‘Saudi Arabia is going back to space,’ says prince on anniversary of historic flight

‘Saudi Arabia is going back to space,’ says prince on anniversary of historic flight

Astronauts from Saudi Arabia will return to space for the betterment of mankind, the pioneering Prince Sultan bin Salman said on the 37th anniversary of his historic flight.

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Speaking with Al Arabiya English in a wide-ranging interview, Prince Sultan discussed the future of Saudi spaceflight, reflected on his life-changing voyage into space, and shared his admiration for the new generation of Arab astronauts.

“Saudi Arabia, of course, is going back to space. We have to go back to space, but we have to go back to space with the perspective of not just bringing things back, but pushing the envelope, pushing technology to help us here on Earth,” Prince Sultan told Al Arabiya English on Friday.

The son of King Salman made history on June 17, 1985 when he became the first Arab, first Muslim, and first member of a royal family to leave earth’s orbit by embarking on a mission aboard the Discovery space shuttle.

He joined a crew of five Americans and one Frenchman on the flight to deliver three satellites into orbit – including the ARABSAT-1B for which he was a payload specialist.

Accelerating ambitions

In 2018, he was appointed