Sultan bin Salman Al Saud

Sultan bin Salman Al Saud (; born 27 June 1956) is a Saudi prince, former Royal Saudi Air Force pilot, and astronaut. He is the eldest surviving son of King Salman.

Astronaut career
Sultan flew aboard the American STS-51-G Space Shuttle mission in 1985 as a payload specialist. He was the first royal, the first Arab, and the first Muslim to fly in space, as well as the youngest person (at age 28) to fly aboard the Space Shuttle at that time.

At the time of the mission, he had logged over 1,000 flight hours. As of 2020, he had over 8,000 hours of flight time in both military and civilian aircraft.

He also helped establish the Association of Space Explorers, an international organization of astronauts and cosmonauts.

Later life
On 27 December 2018, he was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Space Commission at the rank of minister.

Personal life
Sultan was born in Riyadh on 27 June 1956, the second son of Prince Salman (later King of Saudi Arabia) and Sultana bint Turki Al Sudairi.

He is married to Princess Haifa, daughter of Saud Al-Faisal, the former Saudi Foreign Minister and son of King Faisal. They have three children.

References

Category:1956 births
Category:Living people
Category:House of Saud
Category:People from Riyadh
Category:Saudi Arabian businesspeople
Category:Astronauts