The Saudi Space Agency (SSA; Arabic: وكالة الفضاء السعودية, romanized: Wakālat al-Faḍāʼ al-Saʻūdīyah), previously known as the Saudi Space Commission (SSC), is an independent entity of the Government of Saudi Arabia established by a royal order issued on December 27, 2018, and elevated to agency status on June 14, 2023.[1] Chaired by Abdullah Alswaha, the Minister of Communications and Information Technology,[2] the agency's role is to advance the nation’s space initiatives.
On July 17, 2024, the SSA announced a space cooperation agreement with NASA to collaborate on civilian space research and exploration. This partnership represents a major step forward in the country's ambition to create a robust space sector.[3]
Before the establishment of the Saudi Space Agency, the only Saudi astronaut was Sultan bin Salman Al Saud, who flew aboard Space ShuttleDiscovery in 1985 as a payload specialist on mission STS-51-G which delivered Arabsat-1B to orbit. He became the first Arab, the first Muslim, and the first member of a royal family to travel to space.[4] Abdulmohsen Al-Bassam was the designated backup astronaut.
In 2022, the SSA purchased two seats on Axiom Mission 2, a private spaceflight to the International Space Station operated by the American company Axiom Space.[5] The mission, launched aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, included two Saudi astronauts, Ali AlQarni and Rayyanah Barnawi, the latter becoming the first Saudi woman in space. Ali AlGhamdi and Mariam Fardous were designated as backup astronauts.[6]
Various conventions, treaties, agreements, memorandums, charters or declarations establishing and governing intergovernmental organisations or inter-agency bodies dealing with space affairs
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