Success of Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi and Crew-6 to reset SpaceX spacecraft Dragon docking site on International Space Station

2023-05-06 17:11:04

Today, the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center announced the success of Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi and the crew of Crew-6 in the mission to reset the docking site of the SpaceX spacecraft Dragon, to the International Space Station.

This is the third operation to move the Dragon from one port to another, as this task was repeated on only two occasions, during the Crew-1 and Crew-2 missions.

Al-Neyadi participated in this mission, along with his colleagues in the Crew-6 crew, who are on board the International Space Station as part of Expedition 69; They are Stephen Bowen (NASA), Warren Hoberg (NASA) and Andrei Fedyaev (Roscosmos).

The mission began at exactly 3:23 pm UAE time, when the crew began to implement the process of separating the vehicle from the upper port facing space at the International Space Station, and after performing a number of maneuvers that took approximately 38 minutes, the crew succeeded in re-attaching the vehicle to the front port of the station. Space International, at 4:01 pm UAE time.

This mission was supported by Mission Control at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and SpaceX’s Control Center in Hawthorne, California, with follow-up from the MBRSC team.

The process of evacuating the station’s upper port, which faces space, will contribute; In facilitating the docking of the next Dragon cargo spacecraft, scheduled for launch next June, which will carry payload No. 28 to the International Space Station, including foldable solar arrays, or IROSAs; In preparation for installing it on the station, through a number of spacewalks.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Crew-6 crew checked the pressure suits they were wearing during their short mission inside the Dragon spacecraft. The crew also reviewed transportation procedures, checked the vehicle’s openings, and configured its cabin; To ensure the job is completed smoothly.

Commenting on Al Neyadi’s participation in this mission, Adnan Al Mohandes, Mission Director of the Zayed Tomouh 2 Mission, UAE Astronaut Programme, said: “The success of Sultan Al Neyadi and the Crew-6 crew in moving the Dragon spacecraft from one port to another aboard the International Space Station is a new achievement for Mission 69. We are keen on To support the scientific goals of the International Space Station, and we are also working to support its ongoing maintenance. And while we await more successes for the longest space mission in the history of the Arabs in the coming months, we look forward to benefiting from joint efforts and conducting more innovative experiments that will benefit humanity in the field of space exploration.”

Sultan Al Neyadi became the first Arab to embark on a spacewalk mission, following the mission that he carried out alongside the American astronaut Stephen Bowen, on April 28, and lasted for 7 hours and one minute, as one of the main goals of this mission was to work on a series of Preparatory tasks for the installation of solar panels, which was successfully accomplished.

Over the past week, Al Neyadi and Bowen have been working together at Destiny’s lab, working on life support equipment. The two astronauts took turns collecting water samples and replacing components inside Destiny’s oxygen generation system.

It is noteworthy that the UAE Astronaut Programme, which is managed by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center, is one of the projects funded by the Information and Communications Technology Fund of the Communications and Digital Government Authority, and aims to support research and development in the information and communication technology sector.