Who Was The First Muslim In Space?
Who Was The First Muslim In Space?
Prince Sultan ibn Salman Abd al-Aziz Al Saud, also known as Sultan Salman Abdulaziz Al Saud, was born on June 27, 1956, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first Saudi Arabian citizen, the first Arab, the first Muslim, and the first member of a royal family to travel into space as an astronaut.
Sultan pursued his education in the United States, where he obtained a degree in mass communications from the University of Denver in Colorado. He furthered his studies at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in New York, earning a master's degree in social and political science. Upon his return to Saudi Arabia, he worked at the Ministry of Information as a researcher and also served as the deputy director for the Saudi Arabian Olympic Information Committee during the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
In 1985, Sultan joined the Royal Saudi Air Force and was commissioned as an officer. He served as a fighter pilot and eventually retired from military service with the rank of colonel.
The Space Mission
In the same year, NASA selected Sultan as a payload specialist for the STS-51G space shuttle mission. Despite a shortened training schedule, he joined a seven-member international crew aboard the space shuttle Discovery on June 17, 1985. During the seven-day mission, Sultan represented the Arab Satellite Communications Organization (ARABSAT) and participated in the deployment of their satellite, ARABSAT-1B. Additionally, he conducted experiments designed by Saudi scientists, including an ionized gas experiment and an experiment studying the behavior of oil and water when mixed in zero gravity, which was part of another member of the Saudi royal family's Ph.D. dissertation.
Sultan spoke with his uncle, King Fahd, over the telephone while in space and gave a guided tour of the space shuttle's interior in Arabic, which was televised throughout the Middle East. The shuttle returned to Earth on June 24, 1985.
Post Space Career
After his return from space, Sultan became a founding member of the Association of Space Explorers, an international organization for astronauts and cosmonauts. He also served on its board of directors. His remarkable achievements brought him numerous state honors, especially from Muslim and Arab countries such as Bahrain, Kuwait, Morocco, Pakistan, Qatar, and Syria.
In 2000, Sultan was appointed as the first secretary-general of the Supreme Tourism Commission in Saudi Arabia. In this role, he played a vital role in expanding and improving the tourism sector in his country by leading the development of the country's tourism strategy and regulations. When the organization's name was changed to the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities in 2008, he remained at its helm. However, in 2018, it was announced that he would step down from that position to lead the newly established Saudi Space Commission. Following the death of his brother, ʿAbd Allāh, in January 2015, Salman ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAziz, Sultan's father, became the king of Saudi Arabia.
