Emirati astronaut says Musk’s SpaceX mission is the start of a new era
The first manned space mission to blast off from the US in a decade will be the start of a new era for exploration, the UAE’s first astronaut said.
SpaceX – the rocket company owned by tycoon Elon Musk – will send its Crew Dragon shuttle and two Nasa astronauts to the International Space Station on Wednesday.
The mission is the first by a private company to send people into space.
Until now, SpaceX sent goods and supplies to the station with its reusable Falcon rocket and capsules.
Maj Hazza Al Mansouri, the first Arab astronaut to serve on the ISS, sent the mission his best wishes.
“It will open a new gate and opportunities, not just for the US, but for the world,” he said.
“All space lovers and astronauts are waiting for that moment.
“I wish the best of luck to astronaut Bob Behnken and astronaut Doug Hurley.
“Hopefully, it will be a successful mission.”
Maj Al Mansouri said the mission would be a “new milestone that will start a new era in space exploration”.
Until recently, the vast majority of space operations were run and funded by governments but private investors and companies are increasingly heavily involved, he said.
“Whether by SpaceX, Boeing or any other private sector [company], it’s going to be amazing what we will witness in the next decade,” he said during an online talk with Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAE ambassador to the US.
America has not sent its own astronauts into space since Nasa’s famous black-andwhite Space Shuttle fleet was grounded in 2011.
Since then, it has paid Russia about $86 million (Dh315.8m) for each seat on the three-seat Soyuz spacecraft under a temporary arrangement.
Maj Al Mansouri took off for the ISS in a Soyuz spacecraft.
Since then, Maj Al Mansouri has been working with scientists on the experiments from last year’s space mission.
He also takes part in outreach programmes to inspire future astronauts.
“For researchers and scientists, it’s exciting because it’s the first time they have collected samples from someone from the Arab region,” he said.
Maj Al Mansouri conducted 16 experiments while on the ISS, focused primarily on the effects of microgravity on the human body.
The next two Emirati astronauts will be revealed next January and will become part of the UAE’s astronaut corps, which includes Dr Sultan Al Neyadi, who was the back-up astronaut for the country’s first mission.
All four astronauts will be in the running for the country’s next space mission.
Maj Al Mansouri said he and Dr Al Neyadi will continue training to remain prepared for future space missions.
He said he was keen on another trip to the space station but also expressed his desire to go to the Moon.
“As we know, the US is also planning to go back to the Moon and stay there,” he said.
“I believe our leadership will push us to be part of that exploration.
“Maybe, we will see our next generation raising the flag on the Moon.”