Al Neyadi to perform first spacewalk by an Arab astronaut
Sultan Al Neyadi will become the first Arab astronaut to perform a spacewalk later this month.
The UAE astronaut’s historic achievement was announced by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, on social media on Thursday.
On April 28, Dr Al Neyadi and Nasa colleague Stephen Bowen will spend six and a half hours outside the International Space Station.
They will replace the communications hardware that is installed on the exterior of the orbiting laboratory.
Only 259 astronauts have floated outside of the ISS since it was launched in 1998, and fewer than 700 spacewalks have been performed since space exploration began decades ago.
Salem Al Marri, director general of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, told The National that Dr Al Neyadi was selected by Nasa for the spacewalk.
“He’s been training since 2018, and training with Nasa since 2020, so he’s proven his capabilities,” he said.
“I’m very excited for him and he’s very happy.
“It’s quite historic and shows how far our space programme has gone.”
The UAE will become the first non-partner country of the ISS to have one of its astronauts outside the station for a spacewalk.
Previously, only astronauts from agencies that have invested in the ISS – the US, Russia, Europe, Canada and Japan – have performed a spacewalk, a task that requires a lot of training.
Dr Al Neyadi has spent hours in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory at Nasa’s Johnson Space Centre in Houston – one of the world’s largest indoor swimming pools, with a mock-up of the ISS beneath it.
Astronauts wear their 127kg extravehicular suits, more commonly known as EVAs, and practise under water for hours.
But a real spacewalk is a lot more challenging.
Dr Al Neyadi will put on his bulky EVA while inside the space station, be tied to
a tether, exit through an airlock and climb outside of the structure to begin the repair work.
All of this while floating in microgravity more than 400km above the Earth, as the station moves at about 8km a second, completing a full orbit of the planet in 90 minutes.
“He’s very excited and he’s trained for so long,” Mr Al Marri said.
“EVA is an activity where you’re not going to select somebody that’s not capable.
“There’s obviously an element that can be dangerous.
“So, you select someone that has those capabilities, and Sultan is an astronaut that has been trained.”
Stephen Bowen, Dr Al Neyadi’s partner during the spacewalk, has performed seven spacewalks in more than 40 days in space.
He joined Nasa in 2000 and has served on four Space Shuttle missions, including an ISS assembly operation.
Dr Al Neyadi’s spacewalk will be broadcast live on Nasa TV and will be streamed on Nasa and the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre’s social media channels.
The Emirati astronaut has shared several remarkable sights from space.
He has taken a tour of the Arabian Peninsula from his window seat onboard the ISS.
Dr Al Neyadi shared footage of the UAE and the region on social media, pointing out Riyadh, Muscat, Qatar, Bahrain, Iraq and Kuwait.
The video recording was made from the space station’s observation module.
Dr Al Neyadi is seen opening a window on the cupola to share the “stunning view” with his social media followers.
“It’s morning and there is nothing better than starting the day by admiring our country,” he said.
He showed the landscapes of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, including The Palm Jumeirah.
“We crossed the Arabian Peninsula in a few minutes,” Dr Al Neyadi said.
“This morning I wanted to share these special moments with you as we passed over my country, which I dearly miss, and saw its terrain and beautiful views.”