What will UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi do until lift-off after flight delay?

In the rare event that a second blast-off is cancelled, a third window is available on Friday

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  UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi, right, ready for launch with his crewmates, from left, Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev and Nasa's Warren Hoburg and Stephen Bowen on February 27

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  Nasa has called off today's launch a few minutes before lift-off, due to an issue with a chemical that ignites the rocket engine. Reuters

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  Dr Al Neyadi gives the thumbs up before the launch. Reuters

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  The engineering staff seal the cabin door before launch

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  Dr Al Neyadi enters the cabin

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  Dr Al Neyadi signs the wall before entering the cockpit

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  Dr Al Neyadi points at the UAE flag on his shoulder as he walks towards the shuttle

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  Dr Al Neyadi makes his way to the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. AP

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  Dr Al Neyadi, right, with his crewmates, from left, Mr Fedyaev, Mr Hoburg and Mr Bowen. EPA

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  Mr Bowen waves before the drive to the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. AFP

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  The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard on the launch pad. EPA

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  Nasa's vehicle assembly building. EPA

Emirati astronaut Sultan Neyadi would surely have envisaged his week going a little differently.

Instead of floating through the International Space Station (ISS) on the first days of a milestone six-month mission, the longest undertaken by an Arab astronaut, he remains firmly grounded in Florida.

Fewer than three minutes separated Dr Al Neyadi and his crewmates from blasting off on Monday.

A technical fault discovered at the 11th hour, involving a chemical used to ignite the Falcon 9 rocket’s powerful Merlin engine, caused the SpaceX flight to be postponed to Thursday, pending the issue being resolved.

The mission is merely delayed, not dashed, and space travellers are well prepared for such setbacks.

The Crew-6 team returned to their quarantine quarters after lift-off was cancelled and are undergoing health checks and being briefed on new launch details.

SpaceX said "all systems are looking good" for a launch on Thursday at 9.34am UAE-time, with another window on Friday at 9.11am if required.

“Human spaceflight is an inherently risky endeavour and, as always, we will fly when we are ready,” Nasa administrator Bill Nelson said after the flight delay.

Astronauts are trained for scenarios where launches are aborted, even after boarding the spacecraft.

SpaceX’s Demo-2 flight in May 27, 2020, was scrapped 17 minutes before lift-off due to bad weather.

The two astronauts had to disembark from the capsule and returned to quarantine.

This is the first time, however, that a crewed mission by SpaceX and Nasa has been scrubbed — to use Nasa's term for such events — because of a technical issue.

It is the first mission for which the reusable Falcon 9 booster has been used, while the Dragon crew capsule has flown three times before.

Nasa said it would hold a media briefing before the next launch attempt to explain if the technical issue was resolved and what the next steps would be.

Preparations on the space station

The crew on board the ISS are making preparations to welcome the new astronauts.

"The space station’s four astronauts and three cosmonauts will soon welcome four SpaceX Crew-6 members," Nasa said in a statement.

"Back aboard the orbital outpost, flight engineers Nicole Mann of Nasa and Koichi Wakata of Jaxa [Japan's space agency] spent about an hour readying food and sleeping bags for the visiting crew.

"Mann also relocated computers to the cupola [an observatory dome on the ISS] to prepare for the upcoming rendezvous and docking monitoring operations.

"Wakata configured research hardware that will house a new space biology investigation being delivered aboard the Crew Dragon Endeavour."

What is Dr Al Neyadi doing until lift-off?

Dr Al Neyadi and his colleagues remain inside the crew quarters at the Kennedy Space Centre as part of a mandatory pre-flight quarantine.

"The process of flight crew health stabilisation is a routine part of final preparations for all missions to the space station," Nasa said.

"Spending the final two weeks before lift-off in quarantine will help ensure Crew-6 members are healthy, as well as protect the astronauts already on the space station."

Nasa doctors have given their approval for Dr Al Neyadi's children to be near him this week and he has been spending time with them.

He can make video calls to other family members. His father, brothers and cousins are in Florida to watch the launch.

Hanan Al Suwaidi, who was also the flight surgeon for Hazza Al Mansouri, is in quarantine with Dr Al Neyadi to monitor his health.

What happens on launch day?

The astronauts will follow the same schedule as they did on Monday and during the rehearsal.

They will exit the crew quarters, say goodbye to their families and ride in Teslas to the launch pad.

They will take the "space elevator" to the spacecraft about two to three hours before lift-off.

There are back-up launch dates of March 3 and 4 if things do not go as planned.

If the launch goes ahead on Thursday, the Dragon is expected to dock with the ISS about 22 hours later.