Rocket engineer aims to inspire women to reach for the stars

A pilot and rocket engineer wants to use her platform as a Miss England finalist to encourage more women to consider careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Maleha Khan, 27, from Swanmore, Hampshire, has been flying since she was 15 and is currently studying for a PhD researching hydrogen rockets.

She previously worked at the UK Space Agency and dreams of one day travelling into space, having wanted to become an astronaut since childhood.

But alongside her ambitions in aerospace, Maleha is preparing to compete in the Miss England final on Tuesday. The winner will go on to represent the country at Miss World.

While some view beauty competitions as outdated, with their emphasis on appearance and traditional beauty standards, Khan believes the modern contest is different.

"I totally appreciate what people must think and I wouldn't want to participate in that at all," she said.

But she said the pageant was an opportunity to "showcase the science that I'm working on and why it's so important for the world", adding that she believed the combination of being a pilot, rocket engineer and Miss England contestant was "unique".

"I've always thought inspiration can come in different forms," she said.

"If I'm trying to reach out to people who are already attending conferences, who are already at university, this isn't going to make much of a difference – but being in a different environment on stage, even in heels, it might make that person think 'that's really interesting – I could do that too'."

She told the BBC her decision to enter was partly about showing that professional ambition and participation in a beauty competition do not have to be mutually exclusive.

"Typically, people don't associate a woman who is a working professional in the aerospace field with something that's typically been called a beauty competition," she said.

"What I'm trying to do is challenge society and bring those two aspects of my life together because I don't think they contradict at all - I think they are parts of who I am."

Maleha hopes her participation will encourage other women to have the confidence to pursue careers in industries where men have traditionally been better represented.

She believes the issue is not necessarily a lack of opportunities, but a lack of visible role models who can help women imagine themselves working in these fields.

Growing up, Khan said she struggled to find women who shared her background and could show her what was possible.

"I had fantastic mentors", she said.

"But they were all male, they were all older and they did not look like me. They didn't have my ethnicity and whilst they were fantastic at teaching me what they knew, they were towards the latter end of their careers.

"Had I seen someone who was young, who had hair like me, skin like me, and was excelling in these fields, even at the beginning of their journey, it would have inspired me to feel actually I can be there too, I belong there, I don't have to worry."

Women remain underrepresented in aviation and the space industry.

According to the UK Civil Aviation Authority, in 2025, 1,718 general aviation licences were held by women, compared with 32,358 held by men.

In 2021, the United Nations found that about one in five space industry workers were women, a similar proportion to that recorded 30 years earlier.

Maleha believes seeing people who look like her succeeding can help women develop the confidence to pursue their ambitions.

"I believe the issue is showing women that they have the confidence to enter those fields and that's where representation comes in," she said.

"It doesn't have to be a physical barrier - such as financial opportunities or a physical job opening - but it can also be a barrier such as not being able to see someone who looks like you."

She said she wanted to encourage people to approach their interests with curiosity and turn them into specific ambitions.

However, she acknowledges that entering the competition has meant stepping outside her comfort zone.

"I'm not a runway model. I never have been and I don't look like one, so there is this nerve-wracking pressure to put yourself out of your comfort zone, stand on stage and have people judge you."

She hopes her participation will demonstrate that women do not have to conform to a particular image to pursue their ambitions.

"I want to show people that you can be exactly who you are and it's perfectly acceptable."