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Saudi Arabia to send first female astronaut to space: Target launch date postponed for mission
Nasa, Axiom Space and SpaceX are currently working together to identify the best available opportunity to launch the mission, said the ISS
Photo: International Space Station/Twitter
The International Space Station (ISS) has announced that the launch date for Axiom Mission 2, or Ax-2 – the private crew mission that will see Saudi Arabia send its first female astronaut to space – will no longer be happening in early May.
In a tweet, the ISS stated that together, Nasa, Axiom Space and SpaceX are working to "identify the best available opportunity to launch" the mission. They added that more information on the updated target launch date would be shared soon.
Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia announced that it would be sending its first female astronaut, Rayyanah Barnawi – a breast cancer researcher – and a male astronaut, Ali AlQarni, to the International Space Station (ISS) during the second quarter of 2023.
The mission received its official launch date last month, with Axiom Space and Nasa officials announcing that it would blast off from Florida on May 8. Both astronauts will join the crew of the AX-2 space mission.
In addition to Barnawi and AlQarni, two more astronauts, Mariam Fardous and Ali AlGamdi, are also being trained for future space missions as part of the Saudi Human Spaceflight Programme, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
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