Saudi Arabia plans to send female astronaut to space in 2023

Saudi Arabia lifted a long-standing ban on women driving in 2018

Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan bin Salman talks at the Global Aerospace Summit in Abu Dhabi in 2016 (Aya Batrawy/AP)

Saudi Arabia said it will launch a training programme with the goal of sending its own astronauts, including a woman, into space next year.

The kingdom is actively promoting science and technology as part of its wide-ranging Vision 2030 plan to overhaul its economy and reduce its dependency on oil.