SpaceX has launched the first female Saudi Arabian astronaut into space on a private mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
- Rayyanah Barnawi became the first woman from the kingdom to go to space, and along with fighter pilot Ali al-Qarni, she will be the first Saudi Arabian to visit the ISS.
- Blasting off from Kennedy Space Center on May 22, the crew included a US businessman and a retired NASA astronaut who now works for the company that arranged the trip.
- The multi-million dollar flight is the second private flight to the space station organised by the company Axiom Space.
