Robert Besser
25 May 2023, 20:57 GMT+10
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida: Saudi Arabia's first astronauts in decades traveled to the International Space Station (ISS) on a chartered multimillion-dollar flight aboard a SpaceX rocket from Kennedy Space Center in the US.
The ticket-holding crew was led by a retired NASA astronaut now working for SpaceX, as well as a US businessman who owns a sports car racing team.
Sponsored by the Saudi government, stem cell researcher Rayyanah Barnawi became the first woman from Saudi Arabia to travel to space, joined by fighter pilot Ali al-Qarni from the Royal Saudi Air Force.
They will be greeted at the space station by an astronaut from the UAE.
The four-man crew will spend just over a week on the space station before returning to Earth, splashing down off the Florida coast.
"Hello from outer space! It feels amazing to be viewing Earth from this capsule," Barnawi said.
"As I look outside into space, I cannot help but think this is just the beginning of a great journey for all of us," al-Qarni added.
Also on the flight are Knoxville, Tennessee's John Shoffner, former driver and owner of a sports car racing team, and Peggy Whitson, the station's first female commander who holds the US record for most accumulated time in space, at 665 days.
The flight is the second private flight to the space station organized by Houston-based Axiom Space, following a trip last year by three businessmen and another retired NASA astronaut.
Get a daily dose of Japan Herald news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Japan Herald.
More InformationNEW YORK: This week, ratings agency Moody's warned that it could downgrade China's credit rating, citing costs to bail out ...
TOKYO, Japan: This week, the U.S. Air Force said that divers have discovered the wreckage and the remains of five ...
VANDENBERG, California: South Korea successfully launched its inaugural military spy satellite, following North Korea's recent claim of deploying its own ...
HONG KONG: Agnes Chow, one of Hong Kong's prominent pro-democracy activists, has revealed that she left Hong Kong for Canada ...
BEIJING, China: Falling hog prices, mounting losses and rising debt are putting pressure on the biggest pig breeders in China, ...
KATHMANDU, Nepal - On November 23, Kathmandu hosted the first Nepal-Australia Joint Advisory Committee (JAC) meeting under a new Memorandum ...
DALLAS, Texas: This week, AT&T said that by late 2026, it will use open radio access network (ORAN) technology for ...
NEW YORK: This week, ratings agency Moody's warned that it could downgrade China's credit rating, citing costs to bail out ...
NEW YORK, New York - AI set the scene for solid gains in technology shares on Thursday. Demand for Alphabet ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: To help reduce car collisions with wildlife and help animals safely cross roadways, the U.S. Transportation Department has ...
BRUSSELS, Belgium: To address power shortages at electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, last week, the European Commission announced plans to ...
BEIJING, China: Falling hog prices, mounting losses and rising debt are putting pressure on the biggest pig breeders in China, ...