The first Saudi woman is going to space, and SpaceX is going to make that happen.
Axiom Space recently announced the crew members of its upcoming Ax-2 mission, which will take two American and two Suadi Arabian astronauts into space and the International Space Station (ISS).
The private space company has yet to reveal the exact date when the mission will take place, with it only hinting it will launch sometime in mid to late 2023.
Axiom Space Ax-2 Mission Crew Details
Axiom Space mentioned in its announcement that NASA and its ISS partners had approved the crew for the company's AX-2 crew, clearing a milestone for the four-person multi-national team to travel to the orbiting laboratory.
Interestingly, the Ax-2 mission will be the first private space mission to be commanded by a woman and to include both private astronauts and astronauts representing foreign governments.
The Ax-2 crew consists of Axiom Space's Director of Human Spaceflight and former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson and aviator John Soffner from Knoxville, Tennessee. These two American astronauts will lead the privately funded mission and be its aviator, respectively.
The team also comes with Ali AlQarni and Rayyanah Barnawi, two astronauts from Saudi Arabia assigned to be the mission's specialists.
AlQarni and Barnawi are members of their country's inaugural Saudi national astronaut program. Barnawi will become the first Saudi Arabian woman to reach space, while she and AlQarni will become the first from their country to enter the ISS, per Space.com.
Combined, the two Saudi astronauts is the second and third Saudi astronaut to ever reach space.
The team will take a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, docked at Launch complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and reach space and the ISS. Once docked at the space station, they will spend ten days executing their mission, which consists of science, outreach, and commercial activities.
Axiom Space mentioned that the Ax-2 Mission is targeted for launch in the spring of 2023 but didn't reveal a definite date for it. However, the Saudi Press Agency mentioned that the mission might be scheduled during the second quarter of 2023, meaning that the mission's launch might occur no earlier than May.
Axiom Space And Saudi Arabia's Thoughts
Michael Suffredini, Axiom Space's President and CEO, stated during the International Astronautical Congress in Paris in 2022 that "space belongs to all humanity," and that is the reason why he is pleased to welcome its new partnership with the Saudi Space Commission to train and fly Saudi astronauts.
"This partnership highlights Axiom Space's profound commitment to expand human spaceflight opportunities to a larger share of the international community, as well as to multiply scientific and technological development on Earth and in orbit," Suffrandini said.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Saudi Space Commission, Eng. Abdullah Bin Amer Al-Swaha stated that the kingdom of Saudi Arabia is willing to give "unlimited support to the space program to activate "scientific innovations at the level of space sciences, enhance its ability to independently conduct its own research that will reflect positively on the future of the industry and the country."
The country is also interested in increasing the interest of graduates in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and "developing human capital" by attracting talents and the necessary skills.
