STS-51-G Space Shuttle Discovery launches carrying Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the first Arab and first Muslim in space, as a payload specialist.
Sultan bin Salman Al Saud (Arabic: ; Suln bin Salmn l Sud; born 27 June 1956) is a Saudi prince and former Royal Saudi Air Force pilot who flew aboard the American STS-51-G Space Shuttle mission as a payload specialist. He is the first member of a royal family to fly in space, the first Arab to fly in space, and the first Muslim to fly in space, as well as (at 28 years old) the youngest person ever to fly on the Space Shuttle. On 27 December 2018, he was appointed as chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Space Commission at the rank of minister. He is the eldest surviving son of King Salman.
STS-51-G was the 18th flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program, and the fifth flight of Space Shuttle Discovery. The seven-day mission launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on June 17, 1985, and landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on June 24, 1985. Sultan bin Salman Al Saud from Saudi Arabia was on board as a payload specialist; Al Saud became the first Arab, the first Muslim, and the first member of a royal family to fly into space. It was also the first Space Shuttle mission which flew without at least one astronaut from the pre-Shuttle era among its crew.