Mission arrives at ISS with 1st Saudi to go into space – 05/22/2023 – Science
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A SpaceX capsule docked this Monday (22) at the International Space Station (ISS) with four passengers on board, including two astronauts from Saudi Arabia, who were traveling on a private mission organized by the American company Axiom Space.
Rayyanah Barnawi, a scientist who became the first Saudi woman in space, and Ali Al Qarni, a combat pilot, are the first two citizens of this Persian Gulf country to reach the ISS.
“It was a good trip,” said mission commander Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut who has been to the ISS three times. “It’s the smoothest docking I’ve experienced,” she said during the live broadcast of the operation.
The fourth crew member is American businessman John Shoffner.
Approximately two hours after docking, the capsule’s hatch will open for the four passengers to enter the ISS, where they will join the seven astronauts on board (three Russians, three Americans and one Emirati).
The SpaceX rocket took off this Sunday (21) from the company’s base in the state of Florida, and the journey to the ISS took 16 hours.
The Ax-2 mission is the second completely private mission for the Space Station, after a first in April 2022.
Members of the Ax-2 mission will remain on the ISS for ten days, when they will carry out 20 scientific experiments.
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