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SpaceX launched four astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA on Thursday, including the first person from the Arab world going up for an extended monthslong stay. The Falcon rocket bolted from Kennedy Space Center shortly after midnight, illuminating the night sky as it headed up the East Coast.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - SpaceX launched four astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA on Thursday, including the first person from the Arab world going up for an extended monthslong stay.
The Falcon rocket bolted from Kennedy Space Center shortly after midnight, illuminating the night sky as it headed up the East Coast.
Nearly 80 spectators from the United Arab Emirates watched from the launch site as astronaut Sultan al-Neyadi - only the second Emirati to fly to space - blasted off on his six-month mission. Half a world away in Dubai and elsewhere across the UAE, schools and offices planned to broadcast the launch live.
Also riding the Dragon capsule that's due at the space station on Friday: NASA's Stephen Bowen, a retired Navy submariner who logged three space shuttle flights, and Warren "Woody" Hoburg, a former research scientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and space newbie, and Andrei Fedyaev, a space rookie who's retired from the Russian Air Force.
The first attempt to launch them was called off Monday at the last minute because of a clogged filter in the engine ignition system.
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Several people make their way to Jetty Park to see the second launch attempt of NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 rocket launch.
They will replace a U.S.-Russian-Japanese crew that has been up there since October. The other station residents are two Russians and an American whose six-month stay was doubled, until September, after their Soyuz capsule sprang a leak. A replacement Soyuz arrived last weekend.
Crew-6 members are positioned in a Dragon Capsule atop a Falcon 9 rocket at launchpad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on February 27, 2023, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, United States.
Al-Neyadi, a communications engineer, served as backup for the first Emirati astronaut, Hazzaa al-Mansoori, who rode a Russian rocket to the space station in 2019 for a weeklong visit. The oil-rich federation paid for al-Neyadi's seat on the SpaceX flight.
The UAE's minister for public education and advanced technology, Sarah al-Amiri, said the long mission "provides us a new venue for science and scientific discovery for the country."
"We don't want to just go to space and then not have much to do there or not have impact," said the director general of the UAE's space center in Dubai, Salem al-Marri.
CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA - MARCH 1: In this handout provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), (L-R) Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren "Woody" Hoburg and UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, wearing SpaceX spacesuits, prepare to depart for Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center March 1, 2023 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Crew-6 is scheduled to lift off aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket at 12:34 a.m. EST on March 2 bound for the International Space Station for a six-month stay. (Photo by Joel Kowsky/NASA via Getty Images) CAPE CANVERAL,FL- MARCH 01: Crew-6 Mission Specialist Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev gives a fist bump to family members as he prepares to depart for the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center March 01, 2023 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Florida. Crew-6 is scheduled to lift off aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket at 12:34 a.m. EST on March 2 bound for the International Space Station for a six-month stay. (Photo by Red Huber/Getty Images) CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES - MARCH 1: Crew-6 members (L-R) Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, NASA astronaut Warren Hoburg, astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi of the United Arab Emirates, and NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen, walk out of the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building before riding to pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center for the launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 Crew-6 mission on March 1, 2023 in Cape Canaveral, Florida, United States. The crew is scheduled to launch on the Crew Dragon spacecraft for a six-month expedition to the International Space Station on March 2 at 12:34 a.m. EST. (Photo by Paul Hennessy/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) Crew-6 members (L-R) Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, NASA astronaut Warren Hoburg, Sultan Al Neyadi of the United Arab Emirates, and NASA astronaut Mission Commander Stephen Bowen walk out of the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building before riding to pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center for the launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 Crew-6 mission on February 26, 2023 in Cape Canaveral, Florida, United States. (Photo by Paul Hennessy/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the companys Crew Dragon spacecraft lifts off from pad 39A for the Crew-6 mission at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, early on March 2, 2023. - NASAs SpaceX Crew-6 mission is the sixth crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agencys Commercial Crew Program. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP) (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images) The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the companys Crew Dragon spacecraft lifts off from pad 39A for the Crew-6 mission at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, early on March 2, 2023. - NASAs SpaceX Crew-6 mission is the sixth crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agencys Commercial Crew Program. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP) (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images) The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the companys Crew Dragon spacecraft lifts off from pad 39A for the Crew-6 mission at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, early on March 2, 2023. - NASAs SpaceX Crew-6 mission is the sixth crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agencys Commercial Crew Program. (Credit: NASA) The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the companys Crew Dragon spacecraft lifts off from pad 39A for the Crew-6 mission at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, early on March 2, 2023. - NASAs SpaceX Crew-6 mission is the sixth crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agencys Commercial Crew Program. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP) (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images) The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the companys Crew Dragon spacecraft lifts off from pad 39A for the Crew-6 mission at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, early on March 2, 2023. - NASAs SpaceX Crew-6 mission is the sixth crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agencys Commercial Crew Program. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP) (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images) This timed exposer shows the trail as the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the companys Crew Dragon spacecraft lifts off from pad 39A for the Crew-6 mission at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, early on March 2, 2023. - NASAs SpaceX Crew-6 mission is the sixth crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agencys Commercial Crew Program. (Photo by Gregg Newton / AFP) (Photo by GREGG NEWTON/AFP via Getty Images) (L-R) Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, Sultan Al Neyadi of the United Arab Emirates, and NASA astronauts, Pilot Warren Hoburg, and Mission Commander Stephen Bowen pose after arriving at the Kennedy Space Center on February 21, 2023 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Photo by Paul Hennessy/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) (L-R) Sultan Al Neyadi of the United Arab Emirates, NASA astronauts Mission Commander Stephen Bowen and Pilot Warren Hoburg, and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, pose for a photo after arriving at the Kennedy Space Center on February 21, 2023 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Photo by Paul Hennessy/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) Falcon 9 and Dragon are vertical at Launch Complex 39A. [Credit: SpaceX] Falcon 9 and Dragon are vertical at Launch Complex 39A. [Credit: SpaceX] The Emirates already have a spacecraft orbiting Mars, and a mini rover is hitching a ride to the moon on a Japanese lander. Two new UAE astronauts are training with NASA's latest astronaut picks in Houston.
Saudi Prince Sultan bin Salman was the first Arab in space, launching aboard shuttle Discovery in 1985. He was followed two years later by Syrian astronaut Muhammed Faris, launched by Russia. Both were in space for about a week.
Al-Neyadi will be joined this spring by two Saudi astronauts going to the space station on a short private SpaceX flight paid by their government.
"It's going to be really exciting, really interesting" to have three Arabs in space at once, he said last week. "Our region is also thirsty to learn more."
He's taking up lots of dates to share with his crewmates, especially during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month which begins this month. As for observing Ramadan in orbit, he said fasting isn't compulsory since it could make him weak and jeopardize his mission.
Bowen, the crew's leader, said the four have jelled well as a team despite differences between their countries. Even with the tension over the war in Ukraine, the U.S. and Russia have continued to work together on the space station and trade seats on rides there.
"It's just tremendous to have the opportunity to fly with these guys," Bowen said.
