RIYADH: Two satellites designed by Saudi students have been launched successfully on an international space mission, the Saudi Space Agency announced on Saturday.

In a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency, the space agency said the satellites were designed by students from Umm Al-Qura University and Prince Sultan University as part of the SARI competition for building and designing small satellites.

Launched in December 2024, the competition was for undergraduate students from universities across the Kingdom.

There were 480 entries from 42 universities of which only two were selected.

The competition aimed to provide students with practical experience in satellite design, construction, and operation, while developing their skills in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, the space agency said.

Interest in space science has gained momentum in the Kingdom since Saudi astronauts Rayyanah Barnawi and Ali Al-Qarni took part in the Axiom Mission 2 that travelled to the International Space Station in May 2023.

Together with astronaut Peggy Whitson and business pioneer and pilot John Shoffner, Barnawi and Al-Qarni

traveled on the SpaceX Dragon capsule to the ISS, where they were welcomed by the seven astronauts already on board, including an Emirati.

More than three decades ago, Prince Sultan bin Salman Al Saud made history by becoming the first Arab in space when he flew on the STS-51G mission aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in June 1985.