Reuters news agency quoted three informed sources as saying that Saudi Arabia intends to send two astronauts to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX capsule, to become the latest Gulf country to strengthen relations with private American space companies.
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity to talk about the mission's crew before its official announcement, said an agreement was signed anonymously earlier this year with Axiom Space in Houston, which organizes and operates special missions to space aboard a US spacecraft.
The sources said that under the agreement, the two Saudi astronauts will launch aboard the Crew Dragon capsule from SpaceX on a trip to the International Space Station for about a week early next year. The two will be the first Saudis to go into space aboard a private spacecraft.
Reuters said that Axiom has not commented on the news so far, and officials in the Saudi Space Authority, which was established in 2018, could not be contacted for comment.
The sources said that the two Saudi astronauts will join two previously announced Americans, retired NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson and race car driver and investor John Schofner. The mission, called AX-2, will be the second spaceflight organized by Axiom.
A US official said the astronauts on the special flight aboard the AX-2 had not yet been approved by a NASA-chaired panel of space station stakeholders and partners, such as Russia, Canada, Japan and the European Space Agency. The official added that the mission is likely to get approval.
Axiom launched its first private mission to the space station in April, when it sent a crew of four to the station aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule, which included a Canadian investor and an Israeli businessman.
On Monday, Axiom announced an agreement with Turkey to send the country's first two astronauts into space in late 2023, likely for the AX-3 mission, according to a source familiar with the matter. The value of the Axiom agreement with Saudi Arabia was not clear. A single seat in Crew Dragon during Axiom's first mission sold for $55 million.
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