Sultan Al Neyadi training inside a mock-up of the Dragon crew capsule. Photo: Nasa / SpaceX
Sultan Al Neyadi training inside a mock-up of the Dragon crew capsule. Photo: Nasa / SpaceX
Sultan Al Neyadi training inside a mock-up of the Dragon crew capsule. Photo: Nasa / SpaceX
Sultan Al Neyadi training inside a mock-up of the Dragon crew capsule. Photo: Nasa / SpaceX

UAE

UAE in Space

UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi to head to space on February 26

The SpaceX Falcon 9 flight will lift off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida

Sarwat Nasir
Sarwat Nasir

January 19, 2023

  • English
  • Arabic

UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi will head to the International Space Station on February 26, Nasa has said.

He will be aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that will lift off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.

The Crew-6 mission launch was initially scheduled for February 19. However, the plan changed to allow Russia to carry out a rescue mission to bring home three stranded astronauts currently on the space station.

“The Falcon 9 rocket and the Dragon Endeavour spacecraft is scheduled to launch no earlier than February 26 from Launch Complex 39A at Nasa’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida,” said Nasa.

The mission also includes Nasa astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren Hoburg, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev.

This will be the UAE's second ISS mission, after Hazza Al Mansouri spent eight days on the orbiting science laboratory in 2019.

For that mission, the Emirates teamed up with Russian space agency Roscosmos and Maj Al Mansouri set off for the ISS aboard a Soyuz rocket.

This time, the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre ― the organisation that oversees the UAE Astronaut Programme ― was able to secure a mission through US-based Axiom Space, a company that arranges private trips to space.

  • UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi at a Nasa press conference. Photo: Nasa
    UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi at a Nasa press conference. Photo: Nasa
  • Dr Al Neyadi and his SpaceX/Nasa Crew-6 colleagues speak at a press conference in Houston. Photo: Nasa
    Dr Al Neyadi and his SpaceX/Nasa Crew-6 colleagues speak at a press conference in Houston. Photo: Nasa
  • Dr Al Neyadi (R) in a Dragon capsule during a training session. Photo: Nasa / SpaceX
    Dr Al Neyadi (R) in a Dragon capsule during a training session. Photo: Nasa / SpaceX
  • (L-R) Mission specialist Andrey Fedyaev, pilot William Hoburg, commander Stephen Bowen and Dr Al Neyadi. Photo: Nasa / SpaceX
    (L-R) Mission specialist Andrey Fedyaev, pilot William Hoburg, commander Stephen Bowen and Dr Al Neyadi. Photo: Nasa / SpaceX
  • Dr Al Neyadi (R) with colleagues who are part of the SpaceX Crew-6 mission. Photo: Nasa / SpaceX
    Dr Al Neyadi (R) with colleagues who are part of the SpaceX Crew-6 mission. Photo: Nasa / SpaceX
  • Dr Al Neyadi training inside a Dragon mock-up crew vehicle at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. Photo: Nasa / SpaceX
    Dr Al Neyadi training inside a Dragon mock-up crew vehicle at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. Photo: Nasa / SpaceX
  • Dr Al Neyadi training. Photo: Nasa / SpaceX
    Dr Al Neyadi training. Photo: Nasa / SpaceX
  • Dr Al Neyadi training in a centrifuge, a robotic machine that simulates gravitational forces. Photo: Sultan Al Neyadi Twitter
    Dr Al Neyadi training in a centrifuge, a robotic machine that simulates gravitational forces. Photo: Sultan Al Neyadi Twitter
  • The SpaceX Crew-6 team. Photo: Nasa / SpaceX
    The SpaceX Crew-6 team. Photo: Nasa / SpaceX
  • At the launch site in Florida. Photo: Nasa / SpaceX
    At the launch site in Florida. Photo: Nasa / SpaceX
  • Pointers for success from Dr Al Neyadi, with Mr Fedyaev. Photo: Nasa / SpaceX
    Pointers for success from Dr Al Neyadi, with Mr Fedyaev. Photo: Nasa / SpaceX
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Mozn%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Mohammed%20Alhussein%2C%20Khaled%20Al%20Ghoneim%2C%20Abdullah%20Alsaeed%20and%20Malik%20Alyousef%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Riyadh%2C%20Saudi%20Arabia%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410%20million%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Raed%20Ventures%2C%20Shorooq%20Partners%2C%20VentureSouq%2C%20Sukna%20Ventures%20and%20others%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

Men from Barca's class of 99

Crystal Palace - Frank de Boer

Everton - Ronald Koeman

Manchester City - Pep Guardiola

Manchester United - Jose Mourinho

Southampton - Mauricio Pellegrino

The biog

Name: James Mullan

Nationality: Irish

Family: Wife, Pom; and daughters Kate, 18, and Ciara, 13, who attend Jumeirah English Speaking School (JESS)

Favourite book or author: “That’s a really difficult question. I’m a big fan of Donna Tartt, The Secret History. I’d recommend that, go and have a read of that.”

Dream: “It would be to continue to have fun and to work with really interesting people, which I have been very fortunate to do for a lot of my life. I just enjoy working with very smart, fun people.”

Our legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting 

2. Prayer 

3. Hajj 

4. Shahada 

5. Zakat 

LAST-16 FIXTURES

Sunday, January 20
3pm: Jordan v Vietnam at Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai
6pm: Thailand v China at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: Iran v Oman at Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Monday, January 21
3pm: Japan v Saudi Arabia at Sharjah Stadium
6pm: Australia v Uzbekistan at Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: UAE v Kyrgyzstan at Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Tuesday, January 22
5pm: South Korea v Bahrain at Rashid Stadium, Dubai
8pm: Qatar v Iraq at Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana

Rating: 4.5/5

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While you're here
The biog

Year of birth: 1988

Place of birth: Baghdad

Education: PhD student and co-researcher at Greifswald University, Germany

Hobbies: Ping Pong, swimming, reading

 

 

KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
UAE currency
While you're here
The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
Updated: January 19, 2023, 7:44 AM
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