The United Arab Emirates is a country in the eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula located on the southeastern coast of the Persian Gulf and the northwestern coast of the Gulf of Oman. The UAE consists of seven emirates and was founded on 2 December 1971 as a federation, after UK armed forces left the region. Six of the seven emirates declared their union on 2 December 1971. The seventh, Ras al Khaimah, joined the federation on 10 February 1972. The seven sheikdoms were formerly known as the Trucial States, in reference to the truce treaties established with the British in the 19th century.
The House of Saud is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. It is composed of the descendants of Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the Emirate of Diriyah, known as the First Saudi state (1727–1818), and his brothers, though the ruling faction of the family is primarily led by the descendants of Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman, the modern founder of Saudi Arabia. It forms a subtribe of the larger prominent ancient Banu Hanifa tribe of Arabia, from which well known 7th century Arabian theologist Maslama ibn Ḥabīb originates. The most influential position of the royal family is the King of Saudi Arabia, an absolute monarch. The family in total is estimated to comprise 15,000 members; however, the majority of power, influence and wealth is possessed by a group of about 2,000 of them. Some estimates of the royal family's wealth measure their net worth at $1.4 trillion.This figure includes the market capitalization of Saudi Aramco, the state oil and gas company, and its vast assets in fossil fuel reserves, making them the wealthiest family in the world and the wealthiest in recorded history.
Tabuk is a province of Saudi Arabia, located along the northwestern coast of the country, facing Egypt across the Red Sea. It has an area of 146,072 km2 and a population of 910,030 (2017). Its capital is Tabuk. The governor is Fahd bin Sultan since 1987. In recent years, the province has received substantial media attention due to the Saudi government's futuristic Neom City project in the province.
STS-51-G was the 18th flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program, and the fifth flight of Space Shuttle Discovery. The seven-day mission launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on June 17, 1985, and landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on June 24, 1985. Sultan bin Salman Al Saud from Saudi Arabia was on board as a payload specialist; Al Saud became the first Arab, the first Muslim, and the first member of a royal family to fly into space. It was also the first Space Shuttle mission which flew without at least one astronaut from the pre-Shuttle era among its crew.
Sultan bin Salman Al Saud is a Saudi prince and former Royal Saudi Air Force pilot who flew aboard the American STS-51-G Space Shuttle mission as a payload specialist. He is the first member of a royal family to fly in space, the first Arab to fly in space, and the first Muslim to fly in space, as well as the youngest person ever to fly on the Space Shuttle. On 27 December 2018, he was appointed as chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Space Commission at the rank of minister. He is the eldest surviving son of King Salman.
Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is King of Saudi Arabia, reigning since 2015 and has served as Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 2015 to 2022. The 25th son of King Abdulaziz, the founder of Saudi Arabia, he assumed the throne on 23 January 2015. Prior to his accession, he was Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia from 18 June 2012 to 23 January 2015. Salman is the third oldest living head of state, the oldest living monarch, and Saudi Arabia's first head of state born after the unification of Saudi Arabia. He has a reported personal wealth of at least $18 billion, which makes him the third wealthiest royal in the world and one of the wealthiest individuals in the world.
Saudi Arabia and Turkey relations have long fluctuated between cooperation and alliance to enmity and distrust. Since the 19th century, the two nations have always had a complicated relationship. While Turkey and Saudi Arabia are major economic partners, the two have a tense political relationship, deemed from the historic enmity.
The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre is a Dubai government organisation working on the UAE space programme, which includes various space satellite projects, the Emirates Mars Mission, the Emirates Lunar Mission, and the UAE astronaut programme. The centre actively works to promote space science and research in the region. The centre encompasses the Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST).
Mariam al-Mansouri, is the first female fighter pilot of the United Arab Emirates. She was one of the first women to join the United Arab Emirates Air Force (UAEAF) academy, graduating in 2007. She flies an F-16 Fighting Falcon and led UAE mission airstrikes against ISIS over Syria.
Soyuz MS-12 was a Soyuz spaceflight which launched on 14 March 2019, carrying three members of the Expedition 59 crew to the International Space Station. The mission ended on 3 October 2019, when Soyuz-MS-12 successfully landed.
Hazzaa AlMansoori (Arabic: هَزَّاع ٱلْمَنْصُوْرِي, romanized: Hazzāʿ Al-Manṣūrī, surname also spelled "Al Mansoori", full name Hazzaa Ali Abdan Khalfan Al Mansoori is an Emirati astronaut and the first person from the United Arab Emirates in space. In 2019, he embarked on the UAE's first scientific mission to the International Space Station. The mission carried the slogan 'Zayed's Ambition', making the UAE the 19th country worldwide, and the first country in the Arab region, to travel to the ISS. He also became the back-up astronaut for Sultan Al Neyadi for the UAE's second mission to the ISS, which is the longest Arab space mission. Previously, he was the UAE's youngest F-16 fighter pilot.
Sultan Al Neyadi is an Emirati astronaut and one of the first two astronauts from the United Arab Emirates, along with Hazza Al Mansouri. He is the first Arab to serve on the International Space Station (ISS) for a 6-month mission, as part of Expedition 69 and the first Arab astronaut to perform a spacewalk. On 6 January 2024, Al Neyadi was appointed as the minister of state for youth in the UAE, and was sworn in on 11 January 2024.
The Saudi Space Agency, previously known as the Saudi Space Commission (SSC), is a Saudi independent government entity established by a royal order on December 27, 2018 and elevated to an agency on June 14, 2023. The agency is chaired by Abdullah Alswaha, the Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology.
NASA Astronaut Group 23 was announced on December 6, 2021, with the class reporting for duty some time in 2022. Twelve astronaut candidates were selected, including seven men and five women.
Mohammad AlMulla is an Emirati astronaut and one of the candidates chosen in the second batch of the UAE Astronaut Programme. He will train along the NASA Astronaut Group 23 of astronauts to the function of international mission specialist.
Axiom Mission 2 was a private crewed spaceflight operated by Axiom Space. Ax-2 was launched on 21 May 2023 on a SpaceX Falcon 9, successfully docking with the International Space Station (ISS)on 22 May. After eight days docked to the ISS, the Dragon crew capsule Freedom undocked and returned to Earth twelve hours later.
Afro-Saudis, also known as African Saudis and Black Saudis, are Saudi citizens of partial or full black African heritage. They are spread all around the country, but they are mostly found in the major cities of Saudi Arabia. Afro-Saudis speak Arabic and adhere to Islam. While some black Saudis descend from slaves brought through the Arab slave trade, the majority descend from Muslim pilgrims, primarily from West Africa, who settled in the cities of Mecca and Jeddah.
SpaceX Crew-6 was the sixth crewed operational NASA Commercial Crew flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft, and the ninth overall crewed orbital flight. The mission launched on 2 March 2023 at 05:34:14 UTC, and it successfully docked to the International Space Station (ISS) on 3 March 2023 at 06:40 UTC. The Crew-6 mission transported four crew members to the International Space Station (ISS). Two NASA astronauts, a United Arab Emirates astronaut, and a Russian cosmonaut were assigned to the mission. The two NASA astronauts are Stephen Bowen and Warren Hoburg. The cosmonaut, Andrey Fedyaev, was reassigned from Soyuz MS-23. Sultan Al Neyadi was the commander of the United Arab Emirates' mission on the flight.
Events in the year 2023 in Saudi Arabia.
