The Dragon capsule carrying Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi and his three crewmates has arrived at the International Space Station.
On Friday, at 10.40am GST, the spacecraft docked with the Harmony module of the orbiting science laboratory while flying over Somalia.
The docking was confirmed more than 24 hours after the Crew-6 astronauts launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.
“Welcome to the International Space Station," David Hwang in SpaceX mission control said during a live stream of the docking.
Dr Al Neyadi is the second Emirati to go to space and the second Arab to reach the ISS.
His colleague Hazza Al Mansouri was the first Arab to spend time at the station, during an eight-day trip in 2019.
Technical issue during docking
The docking was initially scheduled for 9.43am, but a technical issue caused a minor delay.
One of the 12 docking hooks on the spacecraft failed to open and SpaceX engineers had to perform a software reboot.
The problem was fixed about an hour later and the docking sequence was then completed successfully.
A scenic journey to the ISS
The astronauts had a scenic 24-hour journey to the ISS, flying above Earth and seeing the planet against the darkness of space.
The capsule also flew over the UAE about 40 minutes before arriving at the ISS.
Hatch opening and welcome ceremony
Engineers will now make sure there are no leaks between the capsule and the ISS, so the hatch between the two can be opened.
After the hatch opening, the astronauts will enter the space station and become Expedition 68 crew members.
The ISS will have 11 astronauts once the crew enter the station.
But Crew-5 astronauts will leave the ISS in about a week.
A welcome ceremony will take place after the astronauts enter the station.
Landmark mission for the UAE
President Sheikh Mohamed said Dr Al Neyadi, a communications engineer, was a source of “great pride”.
“I join the nation in congratulating Sultan Al Neyadi as he begins his pioneering mission aboard the International Space Station”, Sheikh Mohamed said.
“His inspiring achievement is a source of great pride to the UAE and another milestone in the journey of our nation and the ambitions of our people.”
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, said Dr Al Neyadi was a true “son of the Emirates”.
Science experiments on the ISS
Dr Al Neyadi is expected to take part in more than 200 experiments assigned to he and his colleagues by Nasa.
He will also be doing maintenance work on the ISS, including a possible spacewalk.
One of the experiments involves studying heart cells in microgravity and being able to watch the tissue beating in space.
“This is something like a cutting-edge technology that one day, when we start 3D printing organs, this is really important to see how the structure is built in microgravity,” Dr Al Neyadi said when he arrived in Florida.
“So this can give us a really good insight how these tissues are built.”
He will also do 19 experiments assigned to him by various UAE universities.
