Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

Saudi Arabia to send first Saudi woman to space in 2023

By Pramod Kumar
REUTERS/Thom Baur
The female astronaut will join another Saudi and two Americans as part of Axiom’s second private mission to the space station.

Saudi Arabia will send the first Saudi woman to space in 2023 as part of the Saudi Space Commission’s (SSC) new astronaut program, state-owned Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

The kingdom’s first space program will send a Saudi crew to space as it plans to launch its National Space Strategy in the coming months, which is set to reveal space programs and initiatives.

The program aims to train Saudis to undertake long- and short-term space flights.

In a statement, Axiom Space, the US company arranging the mission for the kingdom, said it would collaborate with SSC to train Saudi astronauts for human spaceflight and prepare them to conduct scientific research in space.

The Saudi government and Axiom did not provide the name of the female astronaut, who will be joining another Saudi and two Americans as part of Axiom’s second private mission to the space station, planned for early next year.

A US official familiar with the mission told Reuters the Ax-2 passengers have yet to receive approval from a NASA-chaired panel of the space station’s international partners. 

Astronauts’ identities are not usually confirmed publicly until that panel provides approval.

Saudi Arabia is planning to launch two astronauts to the International Space Station aboard a space capsule from Elon Musk’s SpaceX early next year, Reuters reported earlier.  

Latest articles

An artist's impression of the surf lagoon being built at Aquarabia in Qiddiya, Saudi Arabia

Largest water park in Middle East to open in Qiddiya next year

The largest water theme park in the Middle East is on target to open in the city of Qiddiya next year, its developer has announced. Aquarabia, the first water park in Saudi Arabia, will have four record holders among its 22 rides, including the world’s tallest “water coaster” and tallest water slide. It will also […]

Binance CEO Richard Teng told AGBI the company spent $213m on compliance measures in 2023

Binance clamps down on suspicious UAE crypto trades

Binance has blocked hundreds of thousands of suspicious cryptocurrency transactions in the UAE as it ramps up compliance efforts, senior executives have told AGBI. The business, which is the world’s largest crypto exchange, received nearly 60,000 law enforcement requests from governments around the world in 2023 after heightened regulatory scrutiny. Meera Judge, the Dubai-based director […]

Mubadala Brazil Brazilian biofuel

Mubadala to invest $13.5bn in sustainable biofuels in Brazil

Mubadala Capital is to invest $13.5 billion in biofuels in Brazil.  Its chief investment officer and head of Brazil Oscar Fahlgren told the Financial Times that the scheme to produce renewable diesel and aviation kerosene using mainly non-food plant matter is “a very important capital project”.  Mubadala is the second-biggest sovereign wealth fund in Abu […]

Saudi budget deficit Sky Bridge in Riyadh

Saudi budget deficit rises fourfold in Q1 2024

Saudi Arabia recorded a budget deficit in the first quarter of 2024 of SAR12.4 billion ($3.3 billion), four times higher than a year ago – confirming a revenue squeeze that has raised doubts about the funding of some of the kingdom’s giga-projects.  The Q1 deficit in 2023 was SAR2.92 billion, the finance ministry’s quarterly budget […]