SpaceX sends first Saudi woman astronaut to space, will reach ISS soon

Elon Musk-owned SpaceX launched four astronauts, including the first Saudi Arabian woman into space from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral in the southern United States on Monday. The launch was textbook as the Falcon-9 rocket zooted off the surface with full thrust carrying the Dragon spacecraft.

Rayyanah Barnawi and Ali Aqarni from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Commander Peggy Whitson and Pilot John Shoffner from the USA formed the quarter aboard the spacecraft which has been dubbed Freedom. It separated from the rocket nearly 12 minutes after the launch.

“Hello from outer space! It feels amazing to be viewing Earth from this capsule,” Barnawi said after settling into orbit.

Prior to the liftoff,Barnawi said her inclusion in the trip represented the dreams of the Saudi women, “I am honoured and happy to represent all the dreams and all the hopes of the people in Saudia Arabia. And also the hopes and dreams of all the women in the region.”

The crew in their dragon capsule would reach the International Space Station (ISS) by Monday evening and spend over a week before making the sojourn back home with a splashdown planned off the Florida coast.

The Saudi pair is the first to ride a rocket to space since a Saudi prince ravelled on board the space shuttle Discovery in 1985. In what comes as a coincidence, the duo will be greeted by an astronaut from the UAE upon their arrival at the ISS.

Saudi Arabia sponsored the trip

The mission has been sponsored by the Saudi government. The kingdom last year signed a deal with Houston's Axiom Space, which arranges and manages private missions to space on US spacecraft for researchers and tourists.

Although Axiom has not revealed how much the kingdom is paying for the 10-day trip, the previous packages have hovered around the $55 million mark for individual passengers. NASA's current price list shows per-person, per-day charges of $2,000 for food and up to 1,500 for sleeping bags and other gear.

According to Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the astronauts will carry out 14 ground-breaking scientific experiments in microgravity that will aid in the development of new methods for creating circumstances that would allow people to explore space more effectively.

Saudi Arabia'sastronaut programme, which started in September 2022, is part of its Vision 2030 ambitionto develop space research. Usually regarded as a conservative country, Saudi sending a woman astronaut aboard the Dragon capsule is expected to send a strong message to the liberal world.

(With inputs from agencies)

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