In the video: Israeli astronaut Eitan Stibbe launched into space (Walla system!)
Saudi astronaut Rayanna Barnawi will make history Monday night by becoming the first woman from her country to be launched into space. Barnawi, a breast cancer researcher, is part of a crew of four astronauts — including Saudi pilot Ali al-Karni — that will be launched to the International Space Center International Space Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 17:37 p.m. The crew is being launched as part of a private mission by Axiom Mission, which last year launched Israeli astronaut Eitan Stibbe
. The crew also includes Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut who will reach the International Space Station for the fourth time, and John Schoffner, a businessman who will fly the spacecraft. They are supposed to spend about ten days on the space station and reach it within a day.
Saudi astronaut Rayanna Barnawi (Photo: official website, Saudi Space Agency)
"It is an honor and a great pleasure for me to be the first Saudi astronaut and to represent the region," Barnaway said ahead of the mission. She added that besides being excited about the research she will be doing while on the International Space Station, she wants to share the experience with her children. "It's very exciting to be able to see their faces when they see astronauts from their region for the first time," she added.
Until a few years ago, Saudi women were not allowed to drive cars in their country, but Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has pushed for a series of reforms aimed at integrating them into traditional society.
Saudi Arabia had already launched its first astronaut in 1985, when Prince Sultan bin Salman joined the Discovery mission. He became the first Arab and Muslim in space, and since then the UAE and Syria have also sent extraterrestrial representatives.
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