On May 21, Saudi Arabia made a historic mark in its aerospace industry by sending two astronauts, Rayyanah Barnawi and Ali Al-Qarni, to the International Space Station (ISS).
With this historic flight, Rayyanah Barnawi became the first female astronaut from Saudi Arabia to travel into space.
Four astronauts participating in the Axiom Space 2 mission.
The two astronauts from the Gulf nation launched into space from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, at 5:37 PM local time on May 21 (around 4:37 AM on May 22 Vietnam time), and are expected to dock with the ISS at 1:30 PM on May 22.
This mission also included former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson and pilot John Shoffner.
Before being sent to the ISS, astronaut and breast cancer researcher Rayyanah Barnawi expressed her honor in representing Saudi Arabia for this mission. She also highlighted her passion for scientific research.
During the 8 days at the ISS, Peggy Whitson, John Shoffner, Ali Al-Qarni, and Rayyanah Barnawi aim to conduct 20 research projects, including 14 projects developed by Saudi scientists in various fields such as human physiology, cell biology, and technology development.
The launch was carried out using SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. This is the second mission to send a private crew to the ISS, following the first special flight in a 17-day mission conducted last April. It is also considered a significant step towards the commercialization of space travel.
Saudi Arabia established the Saudi Space Commission in 2018 and launched a program last year to send astronauts into space.
Previously, in 1985, Prince Sultan bin Salman became the first astronaut from Saudi Arabia to travel into space.
