First Saudi astronauts to blast off in private mission to ISS
2 Saudi astronauts will be travelling to the International Space Station (ISS) for the first time on a private mission to carry out a number of experiments, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
Rayyanah Barnawi, the first female Arab astronaut and breast cancer researcher, and fighter pilot Ali al-Qarni are scheduled to blast off in a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral in the US state of Florida on Sunday.
Arriving at the ISS on Monday, the duo will join Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut, and US pilot John Shoffner, on a mission organised by private space company Axiom Space.
