Saudi Arabia Launches Astronaut Program with Plans for First Female Astronaut, SPA Says | SUSTG.com – News, Analysis, and Features on all things Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has launched an astronaut program, the state news agency SPA reported on Thursday, with the first journey to space set for 2023 carrying the country’s first female astronaut.

Further details about the Kingdom’s National Space Strategy are due to be announced in the coming months, SPA added.

Saudi Arabia has of late increased its ambitions and plans to enter space in competition with regional neighbors. The UAE is a step ahead of Saudi Arabia as of now, with a UAE-constructed probe currently orbiting Mars and a female Emirati astronaut, Nora al-Matrooshi, in training.

Additionally, Saudi Arabia is planning to launch two astronauts to the International Space Station aboard a space capsule from Elon Musk’s SpaceX, becoming the latest Gulf nation to strengthen ties with private U.S. space companies, three people familiar with the arrangement told Reuters.

The sources told Reuters the deal was signed privately earlier this year with Houston’s Axiom Space, which arranges and manages private missions to space on U.S. spacecraft for researchers and tourists.