Private mission with Saudi astronauts docks with ISS / Photo: Fayez Nureldine - /File
-
Aston Villa Defy History With Rare Victory at Old Trafford
-
Brussels Education Unions Schedule Major November Protest Over Funding and Reforms
-
Crowds Gather at San Francisco Park for Elizabeth Holmes Lookalike Tournament
-
InterContinental Hotels Group PLC Announces Transaction in Own Shares - November 09
-
Making Your Home Safer for Aging Parents: Accessibility Renovations That Add Value
-
New 401k Gold IRA Investment Guide Explains the Best Way to Invest in Gold for Retirement (2026 Update)
-
iPS Cell Research Accelerates Drug Discovery for ALS and Spinal Cord Injury
-
Central Tokyo Apartment Rents Forecast to Rise 11% by 2030
-
Rene Eyre Revisits Autobiographical Performance 'Say A Little Prayer' in London
-
London Museum Granted 24/7 License Ahead of November Opening
-
UAE's HCT Holds Record Graduation and Announces Major Training Expansion
-
Dana White Confirms Flight to Washington for Trump Meeting on Press Secretary Role
-
NASA Awards $10B Lunar Contract Framework to SpaceX, Blue Origin
-
Dengue Fever Expands Into High Himalayas as Climate Change Warms Nepal
Private mission with Saudi astronauts docks with ISS
A SpaceX capsule carrying two Saudi astronauts docked with the International Space Station on Monday, as part of a private mission chartered by Axiom Space.
Rayyanah Barnawi, a scientist who became the first Saudi woman to go into space, and Ali Al-Qarni, a trained fighter pilot, are the first two people from their country to go to the orbital outpost.
"It was a lovely ride," said mission commander Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut who made the voyage three times in the past, adding: "It was the softest docking I've ever felt."
The fourth crew member is American businessman John Shoffner.
About two hours after docking, the capsule's hatch will be opened to allow the four to enter the ISS, where they will join the seven astronauts already on board (three Russians, three Americans, and an Emirati).
The SpaceX rocket took off from Florida on Sunday, and the trip to the ISS, which flies around 250 miles (400 kilometers) above the Earth, lasted about 16 hours.
This mission, named Ax-2, is the second fully private mission to visit the Space Station, following a first in April 2022. The members of Ax-2 will stay about ten days and carry out about 20 experiments.
F.Dubois--AMWN
