UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi is now officially the first Arab to set off on a long-term mission in space, as he successfully ascended to the cosmos this morning to begin his six-month stint on the International Space Station (ISS), all with an Emirati flag on his arm.
The Emirati’s historic takeoff was livestreamed by NASA this morning, with Al Neyadi delivering some stirring words as he reached his goal.
“Thank God, we made it to space. I would like to say thanks to everybody, my parents, my family, our leadership, the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre for their trust and everyone who trained us got us ready for this launch,” he said in the video, as reported by The National‘s Sarwat Nasir.
“The launch was incredible. And, lastly, thanks to NASA and SpaceX. Go Dragon and go SpaceX.
Dubai Crown Prince and Chairman of The Executive Council Hamdan bin Mohammed was also attending the launch from the the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center (MBRSC), viewing the launch of the Crew-6 mission.
UAE’s AlNeyadi bids earth goodbye
Before he left, the Emirati cosmonaut wished his followers across the UAE and beyond goodbye via Twitter, saying “
The next time I address you, I will be aboard the International Space Station. I will be speaking to you carrying the flag of our nation on my arm and Zayed’s Ambition in my heart. Keep me in your prayers, and we will soon be in touch. Sultan AlNeyadi.”he wrote.
AlNeyadi was carried on the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft named Endeavour on top of the Falcon 9 Rocket. He took the journey along with NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren Hoburg, the Mission Commander and Pilot, respectively, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. All went smoothly, and the takeoff was successful.
The first Emirati in space
This is not the first time an Emirati astronaut has made it to space, of course. Back in 2019, Hazza Al Mansoori made history as the first to do it from the country. This trip, he served as backup.
“In a few months in 2023, Sultan will take on the first Arab long duration astronaut mission. [He] will launch to space and I will be a backup crew member,” he said.