World News | SpaceX Launching Saudi Astronauts on Private Flight to Space Station

Cape Canaveral, May 21 (AP) SpaceX's next private flight to the International Space Station awaited takeoff Sunday, weather and rocket permitting.

The passengers include Saudi Arabia's first astronauts in decades, as well as a Tennessee businessman who started his own sports car racing team. They'll be led by a retired NASA astronaut who now works for the company that arranged the 10-day trip.

Also Read | PM Narendra Modi Receives Exemplary Welcome in Papua New Guinea As PM James Marape Touches His Feet (Watch Video).

It's the second charter flight organised by Houston-based Axiom Space. The company would not say how much the latest tickets cost; it previously cited per-seat prices of $55 million.

With its Falcon rocket already on the pad, SpaceX targeted a liftoff late Sunday afternoon from NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

Also Read | Mass Shooting in US: Three People Killed, Two Injured As Gunman Opens Fire at Kansas City Bar.

It's the same spot where Saudi Arabia's first astronaut, a prince, soared in 1985.

Representing the Saudi Arabian government this time are Rayyanah Barnawi, a stem cell researcher set to become the kingdom's first woman in space, and Royal Saudi Air Force fighter pilot Ali al-Qarni.

Rounding out the crew: John Shoffner, the racecar buff, and Peggy Whitson, who holds the U.S. record for most accumulated time in space at 665 days. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)