The countdown has begun to send the first two Saudi astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). The US company SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA at 17:37 (local time, 00:37 Greek time) and carry scientist Ryan Barnavi and fighter pilot Ali Al to the ISS. – Carney.

“I feel great joy and honor to be the first female astronaut from Saudi Arabia,” Barnawi said at a press conference a few days ago.

For his part, Ali Al-Karni explained that he always wanted to explore the unknown, admiring the sky and the stars. “So this is a great opportunity for me to indulge my passion and fly to the stars this time,” said the Saudi Air Force pilot.

The Saudi Space Commission (SSC) was established five years ago, and the astronaut spaceflight program started last year.

The mission leader for Ax-2, organized by US company Axiom Space, is Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut who will travel to the International Space Station for the fourth time. The expedition captain is American John Soffner.

The Ax-2 crew of four will stay for 10 days at the International Space Station, where it will arrive around 04:30 am Monday (Greek time). One of the experiments he will conduct concerns the study of stem cells in weightlessness.

At the International Space Station, they will meet three Russians, three Americans and Sultan al-Neyadi of the United Arab Emirates, who last month became the first Arab astronaut to perform a spacewalk.

Source: APE-MPE, AFP.