Two Saudi astronauts on Falcon 9 rocket to the ISS

The second private mission to the International Space Station (ISS) launched from Florida on Sunday.

The mission will be joined by breast cancer researcher Rayyanah Barnawi and fighter pilot Ali Al-Qarni. The pair are the first Saudi astronauts to travel to the ISS.

The mission was organized by private firm Axiom Space.

The Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) crew took off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral at 5:37 p.m. local time (2137 GMT/UTC).

The team also includes former NASA Astronaut Peggy Whitson, who is making her fourth trip to the ISS, and US businessman John Shoffner.

The crew is set to spend around 10 days aboard the orbiting laboratory.

First Saudi woman in space

The last time a Saudi citizen went to space was in 1985, when air force pilot Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz took part in a US-organized voyage.

Saudi Arabia established the Saudi Space Commission in 2018 and launched a program to send astronauts to space.

Barnawi is the first Saudi woman to go to space. Women in Saudi Arabia were given the right to drive only a few years ago.

"Being the first Saudi woman astronaut, representing the region, it's a great pleasure and honor that I'm very happy to carry," Barnawi said.

Barnawi said that she looked forward to sharing her experience with children.

"Being able to see their faces when they see astronauts from their own region for the first time is very thrilling," she said.

Al-Qarni said he has "always had the passion of exploring the unknown and just admiring the sky and the stars."

"It is a great opportunity for me to pursue this kind of passion that I have, and now maybe just fly among the stars."

sdi/kb (AFP, dpa, AP)