UAE Astronaut Prepares for 6-Month Mission
- Publish date: Sunday، 26 February 2023 | Last update: Monday، 27 February 2023
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UAE's astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi's 6-month space mission has been confirmed to take off to the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday, February 27th, at 10:45 a.m. (UAE time).
Al Neyadi and the rest of the crew were initially scheduled to take off to the ISS today, February 26th.
Al Neyadi spent Saturday, February 25th, with his family and friends at the Kennedy Space Centre Visitor Complex from a distance, as all astronauts need to isolate before a launch. They arrived in Florida on Saturday to watch him go into space.
However, his kids have approval from NASA surgeons to be near him during the family reunion before the launch.
Following the family reunion, the crew enjoyed "a good lunch of butter lemon chicken before getting a little bit of rest and waking up and getting ready to go into space," Zeb Scoville, deputy chief flight director at NASA, said.
Al Neyadi is one of the first two people selected from 4,022 candidates to become the first Emirati astronauts, along with fellow Hazza Al Mansouri. He is a member of Dubai's Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center (MBRSC).
UAE citizens and residents received today a text message from UAE's MBRSC inviting everyone to follow the launch coverage.
The launch will also be streamed live by SpaceX, and NASA.
The mission's crew consists of two NASA astronauts, Mission Commander Stephen Bowen, and Pilot Warren Hoburg; UAE astronaut Al Neyadi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, who will serve as mission specialists, to the space station for a science expedition mission.
They will fly aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft Endeavour, carried by the company’s Falcon 9 rocket, and will dock with the ISS on Tuesday, February 28th, at 11:30 a.m. (UAE time).
The mission will make UAE only the 11th country to send an astronaut on a long-term mission to space.
Image source: @astro_alneyadi Instagram account.