Space Station Welcomes Visitors Including Saudi Arabia’s First Female Astronaut

Two Saudi guests, including the nation’s first female astronaut, have arrived at the International Space Station.

Less than 16 hours after taking off from Florida, SpaceX’s contracted flight reached the orbiting lab.

Before traveling back to Earth in their capsule, the four visitors will stay there for slightly over a week.

With the 270-mile-high docking, there are now 11 people on board the space station, including representatives from Saudi Arabia, the US, the United Arab Emirates, and Russia.

For its first female astronaut Rayyanah Barnawi, a stem cell researcher, and fighter pilot Ali al-Qarni, the Saudi government is footing a multimillion-dollar bill.

A businessman from Knoxville, Tennessee, John Shoffner, who founded a racing team, is covering his own expenses.

Their guide is retired NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson.

She currently works for Houston-based Axiom Space, which planned the 10-day journey, its second to the space station.

The corporation refused to disclose the price of the most recent seats, citing ticket prices of $55 million each for a private trip taken by three businessmen last year.

Only one other Saudi, a royal who traveled aboard NASA’s shuttle Discovery in 1985, has ever gone into space.