CAPE CANAVERAL, May 22, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - The second-ever private mission to the International Space Station launched Sunday carrying a Saudi man and woman, the first citizens from their country to travel to the orbiting outpost.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket roared into the sky from Kennedy Space Center on Florida's east coast on a mission organized by Axiom Space company.

Saudis Rayyanah Barnawi and Ali Al-Qarni are accompanied by two other crew members: former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson and American entrepreneur John Shoffner.