A private mission organized by the company Axiom Space is due to take off on Sunday for the International Space Station (ISS), with the first two Saudis on board to go to this flying laboratory, including a woman.
Rayana Barnawi and Ali Al-Qarni will blast off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 5:37 p.m. local time from Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
They will be accompanied by two other crew members. Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut who has already been to the ISS three times, commands the mission. American entrepreneur John Shoffner acts as pilot.
They will spend around 10 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS), where they are due to arrive on Monday.
"Being the first Saudi female astronaut, and representing the region, is a great pleasure and an honor that I am very happy to have," Rayana Barnawi, a scientist by training, said at a press conference this week.
She said she's excited about talking to children from the ISS: "Being able to see their faces when they see astronauts from their own region for the first time is very exciting," she said.
In everyday life, Ali Al-Qarni is a fighter pilot. "I've always had a passion for exploring the unknown, and admiring the sky and the stars," he explained. "So this is a wonderful opportunity for me to pursue that passion, and this time to fly among the stars."
The rich oil state has already sent one of its nationals into space in the past. In 1985, Saudi Prince Sultan bin Salman took part in an American mission.
But this new space journey is part of the strategy of the ultra-conservative kingdom to improve the image of the country, where women were still not allowed to drive just a few years ago.