360Saudi astronauts Rayyanah Barnawi and Ali AlQarni fly to the space station
On 21 May 2023, Saudi astronauts Rayyanah Barnawi and Ali AlQarni launched from Florida on the Ax-2 mission and became the first Saudis to visit the International Space Station. Barnawi, a biomedical researcher, became the first Saudi woman in space. During about eight days on the station, they carried out 14 scientific experiments.
Saudi Arabia's history in space began in 1985, when HRH Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz flew on the space shuttle Discovery and became the first Arab in space.
In 2022, the Kingdom announced a new human spaceflight programme to train Saudi astronauts and carry out research in orbit. Two were chosen for the first mission: Rayyanah Barnawi, a biomedical researcher working on stem cells and breast cancer, and Ali AlQarni, a fighter pilot with the Royal Saudi Air Force.
On 21 May 2023, they launched with two other crew members on Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2), aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. They docked with the International Space Station the next day.
Barnawi became the first Saudi woman in space. On board, the Saudi astronauts carried out 14 research experiments, including studies of stem cells and of cloud seeding in microgravity, and joined live lessons with students in the Kingdom.
They returned safely on 31 May 2023, and the mission was celebrated across the Kingdom as an inspiration for young Saudis.
- 1985
- Prince Sultan bin Salman becomes the first Arab in space
- 2022
- The Saudi human spaceflight programme is announced
- 21 May 2023
- Ax-2 launches
- 31 May 2023
- The astronauts return to Earth
Sources: Saudi Space Agency · Axiom Space · NASA · Saudi Press Agency.