World
Rocket carrying Saudi astronauts blasts off

Cape Canaveral: The second-ever private mission to the International Space Station (ISS), organized by Axiom Space, blasted off from Florida Sunday, carrying the first two Saudi astronauts to travel to the orbiting laboratory.

Rayyanah Barnawi, a breast cancer researcher, is the first Saudi woman to voyage into space and is joined on the mission by fellow Saudi Ali Al-Qarni, a fighter pilot.

CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA: The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon spacecraft lifts off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on May 21, 2023 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Getty Images via AFP