Saudi Arabia to send first-ever female astronaut into space

Saudi Arabia will reportedly send a female astronaut into space for the first time this year, in another attempt by the kingdom to change its ultra-conservative image.

It is noted that Rayana Barnaoui will go on a 10-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS) along with her compatriot Ali Al Qarna. They will travel to the ISS this spring on the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft as part of a mission by private space company Axiom Space.

Also aboard Ax-2 will be former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, who will make her fourth flight to the ISS, and Tennessee businessman John Shofner, who will be the pilot. The Ax-2 crew will travel to the ISS on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.