Saudi Arabia's first female astronaut to blast off to space on May 22

A target launch date has been announced for Saudi Arabia's historic space mission that will send the Kingdom's first female astronaut to the International Space Station.

In a tweet, Nasa Space Operations said Axiom Mission 2 (AX-2) will be blasting off no earlier than 5.37pm (EDT time) on May 21. Considering the time zone difference, this will be happening at 1.37am on May 22 (UAE time).

Saudi astronaut Rayyanah Barnawi is a breast cancer researcher, and she will be going on a mission with a male astronaut, Ali AlQarni, as part of the AX-2 crew.

On the ISS, they will be meeting UAE astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi, who is currently on the Arab world's first long-haul space mission. AlNeyadi recently set a record by becoming the first Arab astronaut to do a spacewalk.

Also on board will be Peggy Whitson, a former Nasa astronaut who will be making her fourth flight to the ISS, and John Shoffner, a businessman from Tennessee who will serve as pilot.

The mission received its official launch date last month, with Axiom Space and Nasa officials announcing that it would heading for the ISS on May 8. A few days ago, however, a postponement was announced.

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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