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RIYADH: On June 17, 1985, ����ֱ�� made history when the NASA space shuttle Discovery blasted off from Cape Canaveral in Florida on its fifth mission, carrying the first Arab, Muslim and royal astronaut — and with him, the dawn of a new era of Arab space exploration. 

Prince Sultan bin Salman, a 28-year-old Royal Saudi Air Force pilot, spent seven days conducting experiments in space as part of an international crew of seven. 

During Discovery’s voyage, the prince, the second son of ����ֱ��’s King Salman, also monitored the deployment of Arabsat-1B, the second satellite launched by the Arab Satellite Communications Organization, designed to boost telephone and television communication between Arab nations. 

����ֱ��’s leadership in the regional space-exploration sector began at that moment, setting the stage for the remarkable progress that followed and has shaped its vision. 

Confidence in the Kingdom’s ability to spearhead the Arab world’s journey into space was evident when Arab League member states nominated Prince Sultan as a payload specialist to travel aboard the space shuttle. 

The Kingdom had played a pivotal role in the Arab League’s founding of satellite communications company Arabsat. Its first satellite, Arabsat-1A, was launched into space on a French rocket in February 1985. 

During 10 weeks of intensive training in ����ֱ�� and with NASA in the US, Prince Sultan made the transition from Royal Saudi Air Force pilot to an astronaut ready for a mission on which he would be the youngest person on the crew. 

He returned to a hero’s welcome in ����ֱ�� and the wider Arab world when the space shuttle touched down safely at Edwards Air Force Base in California at 6:11 a.m. local time on June 24, 1985, and inspired a generation of Arabs to turn their gaze toward the stars. 

His own mission in the space sector was far from over, however. Upon his return, the prince was promoted to the rank of major in the Royal Saudi Air Force and, when ����ֱ�� decided to accelerate its space-exploration endeavors as part of Vision 2030, there was no better choice of chairperson for the Saudi Space Commission when it was established in 2018. 

Prince Sultan’s efforts to develop a new generation of Saudi astronauts quickly began to bear fruit. And on May 21, 2023, the Kingdom celebrated another milestone in its journey into space when the first female Saudi and Arab astronaut took flight. 

Rayyanah Barnawi was joined by Ali Alqarni, the second Saudi man in space after Prince Sultan, on the first mission of the Saudi Space Commission’s Human Space Flight program. During their 10-day mission to the International Space Station as part of the four-person Axiom Mission 2, the two Saudi astronauts conducted 11 microgravity research experiments. 

A month later, the commission was renamed the Saudi Space Agency by a Cabinet resolution. Its aims are to develop space technologies, boost economic diversification, support research and development in the sector, and nurture future generations of Saudi astronauts. 

“This country has been built for so many generations, and each generation paves the way for the next generation, and creates the platform for the next generation to take it to the next level,” Prince Sultan said during an interview with Arab News in 2019. 

In 2020, ����ֱ�� announced the allocation of $2.1 billion to its space program as part of the diversification efforts outlined in the Vision 2030 strategic framework for national development. Two years later, the Saudi space sector generated $400 million in revenue, and the figure expected to reach $2.2 billion by 2030. 

Beyond ����ֱ��, Prince Sultan’s pioneering journey into space also inspired Arabs elsewhere in the region. Two years later, in July 1987, Muhammed Faris from Syria was a research cosmonaut on an eight-day, three-person mission aboard a Soviet spacecraft to the Mir space station. Joined by two Soviet cosmonauts, he conducted several research experiments in the fields of space medicine and materials processing. 

Hazza Al-Mansouri, the third Arab in space, who in September 2019 became the first Emirati astronaut and the first Arab to set foot on the International Space Station, also took inspiration from Prince Sultan. 

“Al-Mansouri’s passion for space and desire to pave the way for future generations to explore it had been inspired by Prince Sultan’s 1985 mission,” Mohammed Nasser Al-Ahbabi, a former director general of the UAE Space Agency, wrote in 2020 in an article marking the 45th anniversary of Arab News.  

“As a young student, the future astronaut saw a photo of Prince Sultan, the first Arab in space, in his fourth-grade schoolbook — a turning point in his life.” 

In 1988, the then president of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan, met Prince Sultan and quizzed him about every detail of his journey into space. 

“Prince Sultan’s experience had a great impact on the UAE in particular, a country that has demonstrated a strong commitment to space since the time of its founder and first president, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan,” wrote Al-Ahbabi.  

“Sheikh Zayed’s vision and Prince Sultan’s historic milestone were the stepping stones for driving the UAE and the region’s enthusiasm for space exploration.” 

The UAE Space Agency signed an agreement with the Saudi Space Agency in 2020 to enhance cooperation in space activities for peaceful purposes, build technical and scientific capabilities, and exchange knowledge and expertise. 

As the Arab region continues to expand its projects and investments in the space sector, the role of the Saudi prince in reminding younger generations to reach for the stars will always be remembered. 

When they see the Earth from space they will find, as Prince Sultan told Arab News in 2019, that “your care and your passion for things become more global, more universal.”

• Sherouk Zakaria is a UAE-based journalist at Arab News, with more than a decade of experience in media and strategic communication.