Bahrain Takes A Tentative First Step Into Orbit, Adding To Gulf Space Race

Bahrain Takes A Tentative First Step Into Orbit, Adding To Gulf Space Race

Image of a previous SpaceX Falcon 9 launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on May 4, 2019 in ... [+] Cape Canaveral, Florida (Photo: Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Bahrain said it had sent a satellite into space on December 21, taking its first step off the planet and adding to a raft of initiatives by Gulf countries to develop their space activities.

The Light-1 satellite travelled on a SpaceX flight using a Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It reached the International Space Station later that day and is due to be placed in an orbit 400km above earth during the first quarter of 2022.