SpaceX sends first Saudi woman to space
Rayyanah Barnawi, a stem cell researcher, became the first Saudi Arabian woman to travel to space on Sunday.
The ticket-holding crew was launched by SpaceX and led by a retired NASA astronaut who now works for Axiom Space, the firm that planned the flight from Kennedy Space Centre.
A U.S. billionaire, who owns a sports car racing team, also joined the trip.
The crew of Saudi-Arabian astronauts are the first citizens of their country to ride a rocket since a Saudi ruler launched the shuttle Discovery in 1985.
Ali al-Qarni, a fighter pilot from the Royal Saudi Air Force, accompanied Ms Barnawi on the trip.
The crew will spend less than a week on the space station and then return to earth with a splashdown off the coast of Florida, expected to arrive at the space station Monday morning.
“Hello from outer space! It feels amazing to be viewing the earth from this capsule,” Ms Barnawi said.
The trip is the second private journey to the space station organised by Axiom.
A senior NASA astronaut, three businessmen, and three others completed the first last year.
Axiom did not indicate how much Shoffner and Saudi Arabia would pay for the 10-day expedition. The business earlier stated that the tickets would cost $55 million each.
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette
Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”
NationWide
Group urges FG to decongest custodial centres after Suleja jailbreak
”We also call on the public to pay more attention to issues concerning corrections in Nigeria.”
Politics
PDP unveils 200-member campaign council for Edo 2024 guber election
The advisory council has seven eminent members of the state.
Africa
ECOWAS moves to tackle drug abuse in Sierra Leone, other countries
ECOWAS said the workshop was also to support efforts to tackle drug abuse and provide resources and strategies for member states, particularly Sierra Leone.
Lagos
FG to resume resurfacing of Third Mainland Bridge: Official
She said that the exact dates for the renewed construction would be announced soon.
Agriculture
Gov. Makinde inaugurates cassava mechanisation production, processing plant in Oyo
He called on all stakeholders to support the project, saying its success depends on the collaboration.
Africa
Heavy rains, landslides kill dozens in Tanzania, Kenya
Mr Majaliwa, who disclosed Thursday, added that 236 had also been injured in the flood.