Circle Image

Sultan bin Salman Al Saud

Saudi - (KACST-SRI)

Retired

Date of Birth: June 27, 1956
Age: 69


Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (born 27 June 1956) is a former Royal Saudi Air Force pilot who flew aboard the American STS-51-G Space Shuttle mission as a payload specialist, and a member of the House of Saud. He is thus the first member of a royal family to be an astronaut, and the first Arab and Muslim to fly in space.

Space Shuttle Discovery / OV-103 | STS-51-G

National Aeronautics and Space Administration | United States of America
Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
June 17, 1985, 11:33 a.m.
Status: Success
Mission:

STS-51-G was the eighteenth flight of the shuttle program and fifth for Space Shuttle Discovery. Sultan Salman Al Saud of Saudi Arabia was on board as a payload specialist; he became the first Arab, the first Muslim and first member of a royal family to fly into space. It was the first shuttle flight to fly without an astronaut from the pre-Shuttle era. Its mission was to deploy 3 10 satellites.

Low Earth Orbit
Explore Share

Chairman: Sultan bin Salman Al Saud

The Space Research Institute of Saudi Arabia is committed to space research for Suadi Arabia. Their space agency is chaired by Sultan bin Salman Al Saud, the first and only Saudi man to go to space aboard the STS-51-G for 7 days.


Falcon 9
Success
1 day, 7 hours ago
Starlink Group 17-28
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 24 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Electron
Success
3 days, 13 hours ago
VICTUS HAZE Puma
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1A - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

VICTUS HAZE will see Rocket Lab design, build, launch, and operate a rendezvous proximity operation (RPO) capable spacecraft. U.S. Space Force Space …


Falcon 9
Success
3 days, 15 hours ago
NROL-179
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Fourteenth batch of satellites for a reconnaissance satellite constellation built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman for the National Reconnaissance Offi…


Ariane 64
Success
5 days, 11 hours ago
Amazon Leo (LE-03)
Ariane Launch Area 4 - Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana

Amazon Leo, formerly known as Project Kuiper, is a mega constellation of satellites in Low Earth Orbit that will offer broadband internet access, thi…


Falcon 9
Success
5 days, 17 hours ago
BlueBird Block 2 #3-5
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

AST SpaceMobile’s Block 2 BlueBird satellites are designed to deliver up to 10 times the bandwidth capacity of the BlueBird Block 1 satellites, requi…