WASHINGTON - A SpaceX capsule carrying two Saudi astronauts docked with the International Space Station on Monday as part of a private mission chartered by Axiom Space.
Rayyanah Barnawi, a scientist who became the first Saudi woman to go into space, and Ali Al-Qarni, a trained fighter pilot, are the first two people from their country to go to the orbital outpost.
"It was a lovely ride," said mission commander Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut who made the voyage three times in the past, adding: "It was the softest docking I've ever felt."
The fourth crew member is American businessman John Shoffner.
About two hours after docking, the quartet entered the ISS, where they joined the seven astronauts -- three Russians, three Americans and an Emirati -- already on board.
The SpaceX rocket took off from Florida on Sunday, and the trip to the ISS, which flies around 250 miles (400 kilometers) above the Earth, lasted about 16 hours.
This mission, named Ax-2, is the second fully private mission to visit the Space Station, following a first in April 2022. The members of Ax-2 will stay about ten days and carry out about 20 experiments.