In June 1985, Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud travelled into space aboard the American Space Shuttle Discovery, becoming the first Arab in space. According to Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1985: A Chronology, his journey brought together two parts of his life that rarely shared the same setting: the responsibilities of a member of the Saudi royal family and the experience of seeing Earth from orbit. The mission also coincided with Ramadan, adding a personal and religious dimension to his time away from home. When he returned, the prince found himself at the centre of an unusually public reception in Saudi Arabia, where his achievement had attracted attention far beyond the world of space exploration.
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