PARIS: Saudi Arabia is planning to launch two astronauts to the International Space Station aboard a space capsule from Elon Musk's SpaceX, becoming the latest Gulf nation to strengthen ties with private U.S. space companies, according to three people familiar with the arrangement.
The sources, speaking anonymously to discuss the mission's crew before its formal announcement, said the deal was signed privately earlier this year with Houston's Axiom Space, which arranges and manages private missions to space on U.S. spacecraft for researchers and tourists.
Under the deal, two Saudi astronauts will ride SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule to the space station for a roughly weeklong stay early next year, the sources said. The Saudis would be the first from their country to go into space aboard a private spacecraft.
Axiom had no immediate comment. Officials with the Saudi Space Commission, Riyadh's space agency founded in 2018, were not immediately available to comment.
Private U.S. companies have increasingly played a key role in sending astronauts to the space station as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the U.S. space agency now focusing heavily on returning humans to the moon, looks to commercialize the United States' decades-old human spaceflight presence in low-Earth orbit.
The deal would mark the latest that puts companies like Axiom in a unique role of diplomacy long dominated by government agencies like NASA. The space station is a football field-sized laboratory some 250 miles (400 km) above Earth that has housed international crews of astronauts for over 20 years.
The Saudi astronauts will join two previously announced Americans, retired NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson and race car driver and investor John Shoffner, the sources said. The mission, called Ax-2, will be the second spaceflight arranged by Axiom.
The private astronauts aboard Ax-2 have yet to be approved by a NASA-chaired panel of the space station's participating stakeholders and countries, such as Russia, Canada, Japan and the European Space Agency, a U.S. official said. The official added that the mission is likely to receive approval.
For Axiom and other space companies, cutting deals with foreign governments is seen as vital to sustaining a business centered on putting people in space. Putting people into space is a luxury for wealthy adventure seekers and a source of national prestige and inspiration for aspiring space powers like Saudi Arabia.
Axiom launched its first private mission to the space station in April, sending a four-man crew to the space station aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule that included a Canadian investor and an Israeli businessman.
And Axiom on Monday announced a deal with Turkey to launch the country's first two astronauts into space in late 2023. That will likely be for mission Ax-3, according to a person familiar with the flight.
Axiom's astronaut flight business is crucial experience for the company's broader goals of deploying its own private space station by mid-decade. It plans to first attach modules to the ISS before splitting off into a fully private structure once the existing international laboratory is retired around 2030.
The value of Axiom's Saudi agreement was not clear. Each Crew Dragon seat on Axiom's first mission sold for $55 million each.
Reuters
Wed Sep 21 2022
A SpaceX Falcon 9 with the Crew Dragon capsule stands on Pad-39A in preparation for the first private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, US. - REUTERS
AWANI Ringkas: Ada usaha kurangkan majoriti
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
Separuh akhir Piala Thomas: Leong Jun Hao pamer semangat juang tinggi sebelum tewas
Perseorangan lelaki negara, Leong Jun Hao, mempamerkan semangat juang tinggi walaupun tewas kepada pemain tuan rumah, Li Shi Feng, dalam separuh akhir Piala Thomas di Chengdu sebentar tadi.
Pulau Pinang umum pelan untuk Taman Reka Bentuk IC dan digital
Kerajaan negeri Pulau Pinang mengumumkan pelannya untuk mewujudkan Taman Reka Bentuk Litar Bersepadu (IC) dan Digital.
PM Anwar hadir Mesyuarat Pembangunan Kedah
Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim hari ini menghadiri Mesyuarat Khas Pembangunan Negeri Kedah di Wisma Darul Aman.
Piala Thomas: Gegaran sambutan tayangan skrin besar
Bersama Wartawan Astro AWANI, Ridauddin Daud di Putrajaya, Dataran Putrajaya, membuat liputan gegaran sambutan tayangan skrin besar Separuh Akhir Piala Thomas.
Polis tahan 28 lelaki bergaduh di Butterworth
Polis menahan 28 lelaki hari ini, dipercayai terlibat dalam satu pergaduhan membabitkan dua kumpulan di Jalan Raja Uda di Butterworth pada Jumaat, seperti yang tular melalui media sosial.
KPDN terima 15,753 aduan pengguna setakat April - Fuziah
Sebanyak 15,753 aduan kepenggunaan diterima di seluruh negara, termasuk 7,711 aduan menerusi platform Aduan Suri KPDN.
Laporan cuaca melampau dan bencana negara
Cuaca panas di kawasan berikut: Padang Terap, Pasir Mas, Jeli, Kota Bharu, Pasir Puteh, Tanah Merah, Besut, Setiu, Kuala Krai, Kota Marudu.
Tahap 1, tahap berjaga-jaga, suhu 35 hingga 37 darjah celsius untuk sekurang-kurangnya tiga hari.
Banjir di Johor, Kota Tinggi, 1 PPS, 22 keluarga, 88 mangsa.
Tahap 1, tahap berjaga-jaga, suhu 35 hingga 37 darjah celsius untuk sekurang-kurangnya tiga hari.
Banjir di Johor, Kota Tinggi, 1 PPS, 22 keluarga, 88 mangsa.
Tun M, Abdul Hadi antara ribuan berhimpun di Kedutaan AS
Ribuan orang membanjiri kawasan berhampiran bangunan Kedutaan Amerika Syarikat di ibu negara bagi menyertai Himpunan 100 Ribu Bela Palestin pada petang Sabtu.
Fahmi minta Wan Saiful fikir dahulu sebelum keluar kenyataan
Menteri Komunikasi Fahmi Fadzil membidas kenyataan Ahli Majlis Pimpinan Tertinggi Bersatu Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan yang menyalahkan beliau atas kemerosotan kedudukan Malaysia dalam Indeks Kebebasan Media bagi tahun ini.
SpaceX milik Elon Musk bina rangkaian satelit pengintip untuk agensi perisikan AS, lapor Reuters
Program itu dapat mengesan dengan cepat sasaran berpotensi hampir di mana-mana sahaja di dunia.
Percubaan ketiga Starship ke angkasa berjaya
Percubaan ketiga SpaceX untuk melancarkan kapal angkasa Starship ke angkasa berjaya dilakukan malam semalam.
Falcon 9 lengkapkan misi ke-300, lancar satelit komunikasi Indonesia ke orbit - SpaceX
Satelit itu dilancarkan dari Kompleks Pelancaran Angkasa 40 (SLC-40) di Stesen Angkatan Angkasa Cape Canaveral di Florida.
Pentagon zahir hasrat beli Starship untuk kegunaan misi sensitif
SpaceX mengesahkan mereka telah dihubungi oleh pihak Pentagon.
Starlink lancar satelit sokong rangkaian selular
Teknologi ini turut membolehkan rangkaian selular satelit dinikmati ketika berada di tengah-tengah laut.
Ujian kedua sistem roket Starship mungkin pada 17 Nov - Elon Musk
Pengasas SpaceX Elon Musk berkata ujian kedua sistem roket Starship mungkin akan dijalankan pada 17 Nov.
Kapal angkasa Starship sedia dilancarkan, menunggu kelulusan FAA - Elon Musk
SpaceX sedang menunggu kelulusan Pentadbiran Penerbangan Persekutuan (FAA) AS untuk melancarkan satu lagi kapal angkasa Starship.
Kerajaan AS saman SpaceX, dakwa diskriminasi pengambilan pekerja
SpaceX milik Elon Musk mendiskriminasi pencari suaka dan pelarian dengan menghalang mereka daripada memohon pekerjaan.
SpaceX tangguh pelancaran satelit Falcon 9 dengan Starlink kerana Taufan Hilary
SpaceX berkata pelancaran kenderaan pelancar Falcon 9 yang membawa satelit Starlink pada Jumaat ditangguhkan kerana kekuatan Taufan Hilary yang semakin meningkat di Lautan Pasifik.
SpaceX lancar 22 satelit Starlink tambahan ke orbit
SpaceX berjaya melancarkan roket Falcon 9 dengan satu lagi muatan satelit Starlink ke angkasa lepas dari Florida lewat Ahad.