SpaceX launches first Arab woman on private flight to International Space Station
The four passengers are expected to reach the International Space Station on Monday, where they will spend just over a week before a splashdown just off the coast of Florida in the US.
SpaceX's second private flight has sent passengers, including Saudi Arabia's first female astronaut, rocketing towards the International Space Station.
The SpaceX Falcon rocket launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre on Sunday night, and the four passengers are expected to reach the space station in their capsule on Monday.
They will spend just over a week there before returning home with a splashdown just off the coast of Florida.
Saudi Arabia's first astronauts in decades are stem cell researcher Rayyanah Barnawi, and Royal Saudi Air Force fighter pilot Ali al Qarni.
"This is a dream come true for everyone," Ms Barnawi said before the flight.
"Just being able to understand that this is possible - if me and Ali can do it, then they can do it, too."
The journey was organised by Houston-based Axiom Space and the crew is led by Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut who now works for the company.
Ms Whitson holds the US record for the most accumulated time in space - 665 days and counting.
Rounding out the crew is John Shoffner, a US businessman who owns a sports car racing team.
The company would not reveal how much the latest tickets cost, but previously cited per-seat prices of $55m (£44m).
NASA's latest price list shows per-person, per-day charges of $2,000 (£1,600) for food and up to $1,500 (£1,200) for sleeping bags and other gear.
The charge to get gear to the space station in advance is around $10,000 (£8,000) per pound, with the same fee for disposing of it afterwards. It costs the same again for the items to be handed back intact.
The guests will have access to most of the station as they conduct experiments, photograph Earth and chat with schoolchildren back home, demonstrating how kites fly in space when attached to a fan.
The SpaceX Falcon rocket launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre on Sunday night, and the four passengers are expected to reach the space station in their capsule on Monday.
They will spend just over a week there before returning home with a splashdown just off the coast of Florida.
Saudi Arabia's first astronauts in decades are stem cell researcher Rayyanah Barnawi, and Royal Saudi Air Force fighter pilot Ali al Qarni.
"This is a dream come true for everyone," Ms Barnawi said before the flight.
"Just being able to understand that this is possible - if me and Ali can do it, then they can do it, too."
The journey was organised by Houston-based Axiom Space and the crew is led by Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut who now works for the company.
Ms Whitson holds the US record for the most accumulated time in space - 665 days and counting.
Rounding out the crew is John Shoffner, a US businessman who owns a sports car racing team.
The company would not reveal how much the latest tickets cost, but previously cited per-seat prices of $55m (£44m).
NASA's latest price list shows per-person, per-day charges of $2,000 (£1,600) for food and up to $1,500 (£1,200) for sleeping bags and other gear.
The charge to get gear to the space station in advance is around $10,000 (£8,000) per pound, with the same fee for disposing of it afterwards. It costs the same again for the items to be handed back intact.
The guests will have access to most of the station as they conduct experiments, photograph Earth and chat with schoolchildren back home, demonstrating how kites fly in space when attached to a fan.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Comments
Oh ya 18 days ago
Hey why not its not like anyone is ever going to the moon. They tried running a BS story back in 69 but everyone with 2 working brain cells knew that was fake. Even Russia and China have now come out and said they have seen no signs of humans ever being on the moon
