Saudi Arabia to send its first woman into space

Saudi Arabia to send its first woman into space
by AFP Staff Writers
Riyadh (AFP) Feb 13, 2023

Saudi Arabia will send its first ever woman astronaut on a space mission later this year, the latest move by the kingdom to revamp its ultra-conservative image.

Rayyana Barnawi will join fellow Saudi Ali Al-Qarni on a 10-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS), the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said.

Barnawi and Al-Qarni will fly to the ISS aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft as part of a mission this spring by the private space company Axiom Space, SPA and Axiom said.

Also on board Ax-2 will be Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut who will be making her fourth flight to the ISS, and John Shoffner, a businessman from Tennessee who will serve as pilot.

The Ax-2 crew will be launched to the ISS by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Oil-rich Saudi Arabia will be following in the footsteps of the neighboring United Arab Emirates, which in 2019 became the first Arab country to send one of its citizens into space.

Astronaut Hazzaa al-Mansoori spent eight days on the ISS. Another fellow Emirati, Sultan al-Neyadi, will also make a voyage to the space station later this month.

Nicknamed the "Sultan of Space", the 41-year-old Neyadi will become the first Arab astronaut to spend six months in space when he blasts off for the ISS aboard a Falcon 9 rocket.

Gulf monarchies have been seeking to diversify their energy-reliant economies through a plethora of projects.

Saudi de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has also been trying to shake off the kingdom's austere image through a push for reforms.

Since his rise to power in 2017, women have been allowed to drive and to travel abroad without a male guardian, and their proportion in the workforce has more than doubled since 2016, from 17 percent to 37 percent.

Saudi Arabia's foray into space is not its first, however.

In 1985, Saudi royal Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, an air force pilot, took part in a US-organized space mission, becoming the first Arab Muslim to travel into space.

In 2018, Saudi Arabia set up a space program and last year launched another to send astronauts into space, all part of Prince Salman's Vision 2030 agenda for economic diversification.

Axiom Space carried out its first private astronaut mission to the ISS in April 2022. Four private astronauts spent 17 days in orbit as part of Ax-1.

NASA announces crew for Axiom Mission 2
Washington DC (UPI) Feb 13, 2023 - The crew for NASA's next privately-funded mission to space has been selected as the agency moves closer toward commercializing space travel.

Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut, will be in command of Axiom Mission 2, which will be piloted by businessman John Shoffner, NASA said in a press release released Monday. Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi, members of Saudi Arabia's first national astronaut program, will serve as specialists for the mission.

Commercial space technology company Axiom Space is funding the mission, which will send the crew to the International Space Station on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. They will spend 10 days at the space station taking part in several activities, including commercial and outreach activities.

"Axiom Space's second private astronaut mission to the International Space Station cements our mission of expanding access to space worldwide and supporting the growth of the low-Earth orbit economy as we build Axiom Station," said Michael Suffredini, president and CEO of Axiom Space.

AX-2 will be a mission of firsts. It will be the first to include astronauts who are part of a foreign government agency and it will be the first commercial mission with a woman at the command position, NASA said.

Whitson has spent 665 days in space -- a U.S. record -- and embarked on 10 spacewalks.

"I'm honored to be heading back to the station for the fourth time, leading this talented Ax-2 crew on their first mission," said Whitson.

"This is a strong and cohesive team determined to conduct meaningful scientific research in space and inspire a new generation about the benefits of microgravity. It's a testament to the power of science and discovery to unify and build international collaboration."

The first Axiom Space and NASA mission, Ax-1, was completed last April. The mission was scheduled to last 10 days but weather conditions kept the crew in space for an extra week.

NASA said private astronaut missions are a step toward privately funded commercial space stations. The agency is examining proposals for more private missions.