The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SPACE X) launched this weekend the "Falcon-9" rocket to the space. Upon the occasion, HRH Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Space Commission, congratulated both organizations on the extraordinary event.
After nine years, the world watches as American astronauts launch from American soil. #LaunchAmerica pic.twitter.com/cn3Au5esnP
— About Her (@AboutHerOFCL) May 30, 2020
“This historic launch of the Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 promises an exciting future setting a stepping stone for a new era in space exploration. This is an achievement that deserves recognition for its boldness and imagination,” said HRH Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz in statement.
The 19-hour flight to the International Space Station (ISS) with two US astronauts on the Crew Dragon capsule marked the return of the US flights to the space from the US territories following a 9-year hiatus.
“Big dreams have an extraordinary tendency to eradicate the impossible” — @MFAlHarthi on #SpaceX founder @ElonMusk’s 2004 @CNN interview about his vision for a new era of space exploration. https://t.co/dLTwGKvbV1
— About Her (@AboutHerOFCL) May 30, 2020
According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), he also added that it is also an important moment for the NASA and the US space industry which has a partnership dating back to the mid-eighties with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia when the Saudi scientific team and astronaut have taken part in a successful mission to space via the Discovery Spacecraft.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Space Commission said of the milestone that it’s a first to happen via a commercial company and a qualitative shift that opens a wider field for the private sector's companies to contribute to the development of the space sector.