Rayyanah Barnawi Bids Emotional Farewell on Space Station

The first Arab female Muslim astronaut, Rayyanah Barnawi, waved adieu to the crew of the International Space Station (ISS) in a succinct yet captivating address.

Ahead of leaving ISS after 10-day mission, the Saudi Barnawi began her farewell speech in Arabic, when she thanked UAE astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi, who is also aboard the ISS.

She halted in the middle of her sentence, choking back tears, and then resumed speaking in English.

رائدة الفضاء السعودية ريانة برناوي، طاقم Ax-2، تشكر رواد الفضاء المتواجدين على متن محطة الفضاء الدولية، وتخص بالشكر زميلها سلطان النيادي خلال وداع مؤثر لطاقمها مع اختتام مهمتهم. pic.twitter.com/dAFnACWdo5

— MBR Space Centre (@MBRSpaceCentre) May 29, 2023

"Every story comes to an end," she said softly, after clearing her throat. "This is only the beginning of a new era for our country and our region," Barnawi said, as tears rolled down her face.

She added, "So, I'd just like to thank everyone here who helped us," pointing to everyone seated in the ISS. She received smiles and modest nods of appreciation in response to her thanks.

Barnawi and her colleague Ali Al Qarni successfully launched on board a Space X Falcon 9 rocket towards the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday, May 21st at 5:37 p.m. (EDT time).

 Barnawi, the first Arab woman to travel to the ISS, had a historic moment as the "Dragon 2" spacecraft docked with the station.

The capsule is scheduled to undock from the ISS at 7.05pm.

When splashdown occurs, which could happen up to ten hours later, Axiom Space will pick up the transmission again. The precise time will be revealed by SpaceX closer to the occasion.