The launch date for the first Arab long-duration astronaut mission has been changed, according to the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) in the United Arab Emirates.
“no earlier than February 26, 2023” is when Emirati astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi is scheduled to launch to the ISS.
The mission will carry out a number of experiments and research over the course of its six months, which will lead to significant discoveries about space. AlNeyadi will carry out a number of in-depth and advanced scientific experiments during the mission as part of the “UAE Astronaut Programme,” which will train and prepare a group of Emirati astronauts before sending them into space to carry out a variety of scientific missions.
AlNeyadi will be a member of Nasa’s Crew 6 of SpaceX. This is the agency’s sixth crew rotation flight, and a US commercial spacecraft with a crew joins a science expedition aboard the microgravity laboratory.
AlNeyadi will be joined on the mission by Nasa astronauts Warren Hoburg and Stephen Bowen; and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. This will be everyone on the crew’s first spaceflight, with the exception of Bowen.
Endeavour, a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, will launch on a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, according to Nasa.
AlNeyadi will work as a flight engineer once aboard the ISS. Bowen will venture into space for the fourth time. He has completed three space shuttle missions and been in space for more than 40 days, including seven 47-hour-and-18-minute spacewalks. As mission commander, he will be in charge of all flight phases, from launch to reentry.
Hoburg will be in charge of the spacecraft’s performance and systems as pilot. Fedyaev will monitor the spacecraft as a mission specialist during the dynamic launch and re-entry phases of flight.
The UAE Astronaut Program’s objective is to construct the infrastructure for human space exploration in the country. Additionally, it aims to enhance the capabilities of Emirati astronauts and enable them to operate the ISS.
