Latest news with #PrinceSultan
Gulf Business
6 days ago
- Science
- Gulf Business
Saudi Arabia marks 40 years since Prince Sultan bin Salman's historic space mission
Image: Supplied Saudi Arabia today commemorated the 40th anniversary of Prince Sultan bin Salman's landmark journey aboard On June 17, 1985, Prince Sultan, then a 28-year-old Royal Saudi Air Force pilot, joined the international crew of the STS-51-G mission as a payload specialist. The seven-day mission saw the successful deployment of the Arabsat-1B satellite, a significant achievement for the Arab Satellite Communications Organization (ARABSAT) and the wider Arab world. During the mission, which completed 111 orbits of Earth, Prince Sultan conducted scientific experiments, including studying the interaction of oil and water in microgravity, and became the first person to read the holy Qur'an in space — a moment that resonated deeply across the Muslim world. 'Prince Sultan's mission was more than a historic achievement; it set the stage for what has become a shining example of what the future holds for the Arab world,' said Lisa La Bonte, CEO of TSEC and a pioneer in the MENA space education sector. 'His legacy drives the kingdom's — and the region's — space ambitions, fostering innovation and supporting economic initiatives like Vision 2030.' Read: Saudi Arabia's first 'najmonaut' Prince Sultan's achievement has become a symbol of Saudi Arabia's commitment to scientific advancement and its leadership in the region's emerging space sector. Often referred to as the first 'najmonaut' (Arab astronaut), his legacy continues to inspire new generations of explorers and innovators. 'Seeing Earth from space gave me a new perspective on our shared humanity,' Prince Sultan reflected. 'It's a reminder that our ambitions must always serve the greater good, pushing technology and knowledge to improve life on our planet.' The 40th anniversary serves as both a celebration of past achievement and a reaffirmation of the kingdom's long-term vision for space exploration and technological progress.
Arab News
19-04-2025
- Science
- Arab News
1985 - Saudi prince's pioneering journey into space
RIYADH: On June 17, 1985, Saudi Arabia 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 Saudi Arabia'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. Saudi Arabia'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 Saudi Arabia 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 Saudi Arabia 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 Saudi Arabia 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. Prince Sultan and his Saudi Air Force backup, Maj. Abdul Al-Mohsin Hamad Al-Bassam, arrive in the US to begin intensive training for a space shuttle mission. Prince Sultan becomes first Arab in space after he blasts off from Cape Canaveral on the shuttle Discovery. Discovery's crew deploys the Arabsat-1B satellite. After orbiting Earth 111 times and traveling more than 4.6 million km, Discovery lands at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Muhammed Faris from Syria becomes second Arab in space, flies to the Soviet Mir space station. Prince Sultan appointed chairperson of newly established Saudi Space Commission. Emirati Hazza Al-Mansouri carries the UAE flag to the International Space Station during an 8-day mission. He is the third Arab in space and the first on the ISS. First Saudi and Arab female astronaut, Rayyanah Barnawi, and Ali Alqarni, the second Saudi man in space after Prince Sultan, visit the ISS on a 10-day mission. Cabinet resolution changes name of Saudi Space Commission to Saudi Space Agency. 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, Saudi Arabia 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 Saudi Arabia, 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.'
Al Arabiya
26-02-2025
- Sport
- Al Arabiya
Exclusive Prince Sultan o team Aoki's rise to top of E1 raceboat series
Just two races into the second season of the UIM E1 World Championship presented by PIF, Saudi Arabia-backed Team Aoki is sitting second in the 2025 standings. Last year, it finished eighth of nine teams; the transformation has been impressive. The world's first all-electric raceboat series, E1 has made a major splash in the motorsport world since its inception after attracting a host of celebrity team owners including Virat Kohli, Rafa Nadal, Tom Brady and Will Smith, who was in attendance in Doha for the series' latest round. For more Saudi sports news, visit our dedicated page. At the helm of the team currently second in the championship, however, is American DJ and record producer Steve Aoki. His eponymous outfit - made up of Saudi rally driver Mashael Al-Obaidan and Spanish ex-F1 test driver Dani Clos - won the first race of the season in Jeddah and followed it up last weekend with a second-place finish in Qatar. Team Aoki is also backed by Prince Sultan bin Fahd bin Salman, the chairman of the Saudi Water Sports and Diving Federation (SWSDF). With a driver, team investor and series presenting sponsor all from the Kingdom, E1 has a distinct Saudi flavor. Providing both a sporting spectacle and important messaging around marine sustainability, E1 was an attractive proposition for Prince Sultan - a keen freediver who has repeatedly seen ocean damage firsthand. 'The emphasis on sustainability is an absolutely vital part of my involvement in E1,' SWSDF chief Prince Sultan told Al Arabiya English in Doha. 'I am obsessed with the ocean and started diving when I was 15; it has been heartbreaking to see how the coral has died at many dive sites I have visited. 'We are not just pushing sports like E1 forward, we are trying to improve awareness of the ocean and our efforts to regenerate it.' In the first season of E1, the backing of the SWSDF meant Team Aoki had two Saudi pilots: Mashael Al-Obaiden and Saud Ahmed. Al-Obaidan remains for 2025 and after another Saudi-backed team entered the competition this year - Team Alula, owned by Lebron James - Prince Sultan is now supporting Team Aoki as an individual investor. 'We want the team to become a pathway for Saudis who would like to participate in the sport,' Prince Sultan says. 'The aim is for Team Aoki to be a stepping stone for Saudi athletes. 'Mashael is here already and she is a great pilot, she's awesome. I remember when we interviewed her and she said to us, 'if you only want me to come to the team to drive, I'm not interested. I only want to race if you want me to win.' 'That's what I wanted and I think with that mentality, despite having some setbacks last year, we can be competitive. She has shown that we are all learning and growing with the sport and I think now we have a winning team together. ' The reward for that faith in Al-Obaidan came In the first race of the 2025 campaign Jeddah as Prince Sultan and Team Aoki celebrated their first ever triumph in E1. Standing atop the podium, Al-Obaidan - an experienced driver who has competed multiple times in the Dakar Rally - felt moved by the occasion. 'When they played that Saudi national anthem, I had to take a deep breath,' Al-Obaidan recalls to Al Arabiya English. 'It was just a 'wow' moment that I will never forget. I saw people's eyes, I saw them twinkling and how everyone was smiling and happy. 'That means a lot to me because I am going after my passion and pushing myself to win; Saudi Arabia deserves to actually see the result of their enablement, and this was it.' For Prince Sultan, too, it was a milestone moment in his involvement with the nascent sport, which sees each team given identical electric raceboats with only limited scope to make adjustments. The level playing field means that races are always exciting and often produce different winners. 'Jeddah was a beautiful experience,' says Prince Sultan. 'I don't think that words can do justice really, but it's a combination of a lot of hard work, a lot of training, learning from mistakes, putting a great team together. 'It's a beautiful feeling. We enjoyed it and had a great team dinner afterwards with a few of the competing teams joining us too. But then that race was done. We won, we celebrated, got out of the way and focused on the next race. 'That's how you navigate a series like this - by not getting ahead of ourselves and staying humble because the athletes on the other teams are absolutely amazing and they are tough competition.' Although E1 is still in the early stages of its development, with last week's Doha race only the seventh the series has ever held, Prince Sultan insists the sport is on an explosive growth trajectory - aided significantly by its collection of celebrity owners. Of those, he reserved particular praise for Aoki, with whom he shares a close working relationship. 'Steve is one of the nicest guys you'll meet and he cares so much because he is a huge free-diver who loves the ocean,' the SWSDF chairman explains. 'He has many, many platforms to get his message across and because his father also used to do powerboating a long time ago, there is a lot of meaning to him being involved in E1. 'Honestly, I see no limit to how big E1 can get. It's such a level playing field because the boats are equal in weight and technology - that's the beauty of this type of racing and it means there is a large amount of overtaking. It has everything people are looking for in an entertaining motorsport series.'
