• The International Space Station. AP
    The International Space Station. AP
  • Photo taken by Russian cosmonaut Sergei Korsakov shows a Soyuz capsule of the ISS. AP
    Photo taken by Russian cosmonaut Sergei Korsakov shows a Soyuz capsule of the ISS. AP
  • Video grab from a Nasa feed on December 15 shows liquid spraying from the aft end of the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft. AFP
    Video grab from a Nasa feed on December 15 shows liquid spraying from the aft end of the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft. AFP
  • Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev conducted a spacewalk ISS on November 17. Roscosmos/Handout via Reuters
    Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev conducted a spacewalk ISS on November 17. Roscosmos/Handout via Reuters
  • The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Crew5 Dragon spacecraft lifts off from the Kennedy Space Centre in October. AFP
    The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Crew5 Dragon spacecraft lifts off from the Kennedy Space Centre in October. AFP
  • Nasa's Crew 5 members pose for a picture while departing their crew quarters for launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Reuters
    Nasa's Crew 5 members pose for a picture while departing their crew quarters for launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Reuters
  • Cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev and Denis Matveev during their spacewalk on the ISS in August. AP
    Cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev and Denis Matveev during their spacewalk on the ISS in August. AP
  • Roscosmos' cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev and Denis Matveev work on the robot arm. Roscosmos Space Agency via AP
    Roscosmos' cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev and Denis Matveev work on the robot arm. Roscosmos Space Agency via AP

Astronauts trapped in space hope for Hollywood happy ending to nightmare voyage


James Langton
  • English
  • Arabic

A group of astronauts are trapped in orbit around the Earth after their space ship suffers catastrophic damage.

A rescue ship is available to bring them home, but there is a catch. It has only four seats ― and there are seven of them.

It sounds like the nail-biting plot of a Hollywood film to rival the plight of Bruce Willis in Armageddon or George Clooney and Sandra Bullock in Gravity.

In fact, this is the real-life dilemma that could face astronauts on the International Space Station after a Russian Soyuz capsule was so badly damaged it may be beyond repair.

Russian cosmonauts Dmitry Petelin and Sergey Prokopyev and Nasa astronaut Frank Rubio arrived at the ISS in September on a Soyuz ship that was scheduled to take them home in March. Two weeks ago while docked at the ISS, the Soyuz sprang a huge coolant leak that some experts believe means it can no longer fly safely.

The only other spacecraft at the ISS is an American SpaceX Dragon, which carried a group of four astronauts, two from Nasa, a Canadian and a Russian, in October.

Plotting an escape route

If the ISS needed to be evacuated in an emergency, this group could escape in the Dragon. For the remaining three, though, there would be no way home.

Russia’s space agency Roscomos is still assessing the extent of the damage to the Soyuz, as well as the possible cause.

A stream of particles, which Nasa says appears to be liquid and possibly coolant, sprays from the Soyuz spacecraft at the International Space Station. Photo: Nasa
A stream of particles, which Nasa says appears to be liquid and possibly coolant, sprays from the Soyuz spacecraft at the International Space Station. Photo: Nasa

Video taken on December 14 showed coolant streaming from the ship into the vacuum of space from a hole in a pipe less than a millimetre wide, with temperatures inside the capsule already rising.

The damage is thought to be the result of a strike from either a micro-meteorite or a tiny piece of space debris. Either way, the risks of using the ship during the heat of re-entry are high.

Tommaso Sgobba, former head of spaceflight safety at the European Space Agency, believes the Soyuz is unusable. He told the website Space.com "I have to assume that the active coolant system of the Soyuz spacecraft was compromised and therefore, the Soyuz is no longer available for operation. It's my personal feeling, but if it's true, we have a big problem on the space station. We are missing the crew escape system.”

Any rescue will have to involve another Soyuz. Astronauts using the newer SpaceX Dragon ship wear made-to-measure customised suits, meaning those on the ISS who arrived in the Russian ship would not fit in a SpaceX capsule.

Solo flights to lead rescue

The most likely solution is for Russia to send up the next Soyuz capsule, due to blast off in March or late February, as an unmanned launch, allowing the stranded astronauts to return in the empty craft.

Sgobba, who now heads the International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety, doubts this can be achieved. ”I don't think Soyuz can dock completely autonomously. I believe that at least one person has to be on board,” he said.

If that is the case, then Russia would need to launch two capsules, both manned, to the ISS, to bring everyone home. In the meantime, the three astronauts on the space station face several nervous months.

The risk that something might happen to the ISS during that time, prompting an evacuation, is ever present. At the end of November, a space walk by two Nasa astronauts was cancelled after debris from a Russian satellite destroyed in a missile test came dangerously close.

A month earlier, the ISS was forced to fire thruster rockets to avoid a potential collision with more debris from the same Cosmos 1408 satellite.

These incidents are a timely reminder of the dangers of space travel. All 19 astronauts killed since 1971 died in the Earth’s atmosphere, either on take-off or re-entry.

  • A picture taken from the International Space Station (ISS) shows the Luzhniki Stadium, which will host matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Moscow, Russia. Reuters
    A picture taken from the International Space Station (ISS) shows the Luzhniki Stadium, which will host matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Moscow, Russia. Reuters
  • A picture taken from the International Space Station shows the Volgograd Arena, which will host matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Volgograd, Russia. Reuters
    A picture taken from the International Space Station shows the Volgograd Arena, which will host matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Volgograd, Russia. Reuters
  • A picture taken from the International Space Station (ISS) shows the Rostov Arena, which will host matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. Reuters
    A picture taken from the International Space Station (ISS) shows the Rostov Arena, which will host matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. Reuters
  • A picture taken from the International Space Station (ISS) shows the Ekaterinburg Arena, which will host matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Yekaterinburg, Russia. Reuters
    A picture taken from the International Space Station (ISS) shows the Ekaterinburg Arena, which will host matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Yekaterinburg, Russia. Reuters
  • A picture taken from the International Space Station (ISS) shows the Kazan Arena, which will host matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Kazan, Russia. Reuters
    A picture taken from the International Space Station (ISS) shows the Kazan Arena, which will host matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Kazan, Russia. Reuters
  • A picture taken from the International Space Station (ISS) shows the Mordovia Arena, which will host matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Saransk, Russia. Reuters
    A picture taken from the International Space Station (ISS) shows the Mordovia Arena, which will host matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Saransk, Russia. Reuters
  • A picture taken from the International Space Station (ISS) shows the Samara Arena, which will host matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Samara, Russia. Reuters
    A picture taken from the International Space Station (ISS) shows the Samara Arena, which will host matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Samara, Russia. Reuters
  • A picture taken from the International Space Station (ISS) shows the Kaliningrad Stadium, which will host matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Kaliningrad, Russia. Reuters
    A picture taken from the International Space Station (ISS) shows the Kaliningrad Stadium, which will host matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Kaliningrad, Russia. Reuters
  • A picture taken from the International Space Station (ISS) shows the Spartak Stadium, which will host matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Moscow, Russia. Reuters
    A picture taken from the International Space Station (ISS) shows the Spartak Stadium, which will host matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Moscow, Russia. Reuters
  • A picture taken from the International Space Station (ISS) shows the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, which will host matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. Reuters
    A picture taken from the International Space Station (ISS) shows the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, which will host matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. Reuters
  • A picture taken from the International Space Station (ISS) shows the Saint Petersburg Stadium, which will host matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in St. Petersburg, Russia. Reuters
    A picture taken from the International Space Station (ISS) shows the Saint Petersburg Stadium, which will host matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in St. Petersburg, Russia. Reuters
  • A picture taken from the International Space Station (ISS) shows the Fisht Stadium, which will host matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Sochi, Russia. Reuters
    A picture taken from the International Space Station (ISS) shows the Fisht Stadium, which will host matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Sochi, Russia. Reuters

Stark reminder of dangers of space travel

But it is the prospect of a lonely death in space itself, with no hope of rescue, that is most chilling. The 12 men who have walked on the Moon knew there was no way back if their equipment failed, but the aborted Apollo 13 mission, 50 years ago, came closest to disaster.

Only the ingenuity of the three crew and Nasa’s Mission Control brought them safely home after an explosion nearly 322,000km from Earth.

Now the Artemis programme promises to return astronauts to the lunar surface by 2024, with new spaceships, but all the attendant dangers.

Artemis will not even have back-up from the lunar lander, which provided life-saving refuge for the three Apollo 13 crew on their journey home. The new Orion spacecraft will travel to the Moon separately from the lander, which will link up only once the two craft are in lunar orbit.

And with a growing number of players in manned spaceflight, including Elon Musk’s deep space SpaceX Starship, Boeing and Blue Origin, funded by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, the issue of whether a rescue can be effected is again on the agenda.

The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 was developed by the United Nations and requires astronauts from one state to assist those of another country if they get into trouble. But it doesn’t say how.

While building Skylab, the original US space station in 1973, Nasa kept a second shuttle on the launchpad during missions in case of an emergency.

For the ISS, a lifeboat called the Crew Return Vehicle was proposed, to be kept permanently docked on the space station, with enough seats for everyone on board.

The ship was a version of the Space Shuttle, but the Challenger and Columbia disasters cast doubt on the safety of the design and the project was scrapped.

Since then the Soyuz, and now Dragon capsules have served as “lifeboats”, an arrangement which has worked well ― until now.

While astronauts were previously aware of the dangers of space flight, the dramatic growth in space tourism ― soon to include the actor Tom Cruise who plans to shoot a movie on the ISS next year ― means the question of some kind of official rescue service is being considered.

The US-funded space research centre Aerospace published a report last year, highlighting what it called the “in space rescue capability gap”.

“Neither the US government nor commercial spaceflight providers currently have plans in place to conduct a timely rescue of a crew from a distressed spacecraft in low Earth orbit or anywhere in space,” it concluded.

Grant Cates, who worked on the Space Shuttle programme and now works for Aerospace, published his own analysis in the Journal of Space Safety Engineering last year.

“The risks involved in space travel are many, and they are magnified by the fact that there are no plans and attendant capabilities in place for the timely rescue of a crew from a disabled spacecraft,” he wrote.

At the same time, Gates concluded: “As the world’s greatest spacefaring nation [the US] has the wherewithal to develop and employ effective in-space rescue capabilities.”

Next year we could see the launch of the dearMoon mission. A SpaceX Starship will carry nine passengers on a six-day mission that will include a flyby of the Moon.

These will be no ordinary astronauts. Only the commander, the Japanese fashion retail billionaire, Yusaku Maezawa, has flown in space, and only as a tourist to the ISS.

The other eight include Steve Aoki, an American dance music producer and DJ, Rhiannon Adam, an Irish photographer, Dev Joshi, 23, an Indian TV star, a Czech choreographer, a YouTube star, a dancer who has worked with Kanye West and T.O.P, a South Korean rapper.

The stated objectives of dearMoon are world peace and artistic creation, but if something goes wrong it will be remembered more as a 21st-century version of the Titanic.

Except the Titanic did, at least, have a few lifeboats.

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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4.4-litre%2C%20twin-turbo%20V8%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eeight-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E617hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E750Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efrom%20Dh630%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi

From: Dara

To: Team@

Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT

Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East

Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.

Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.

I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.

This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.

It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.

Uber on,

Dara

Milestones on the road to union

1970

October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar. 

December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.

1971

March 1:  Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.

July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.

July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.

August 6:  The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.

August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.

September 3: Qatar becomes independent.

November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.

November 29:  At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.

November 30: Despite  a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa. 

November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties

December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.

December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.

Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
​​​​​​​Penguin Press

The specs

Common to all models unless otherwise stated

Engine: 4-cylinder 2-litre T-GDi

0-100kph: 5.3 seconds (Elantra); 5.5 seconds (Kona); 6.1 seconds (Veloster)

Power: 276hp

Torque: 392Nm

Transmission: 6-Speed Manual/ 8-Speed Dual Clutch FWD

Price: TBC

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.

The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
Friday’s fixture

6.15pm: Al Wahda v Hatta

6.15pm: Al Dhafra v Ajman

9pm: Al Wasl v Baniyas

9pm: Fujairah v Sharjah

.

In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
  • Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000 
  • Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000 
  • Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000 
  • Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000 
  • HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000 
  • Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000 
  • Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000 
  • Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000 
  • Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000 
  • Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000 
  • Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000 
  • Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
  • Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
  • Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Dubai World Cup factbox

Most wins by a trainer: Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor(9)

Most wins by a jockey: Jerry Bailey(4)

Most wins by an owner: Godolphin(9)

Most wins by a horse: Godolphin’s Thunder Snow(2)

Updated: January 01, 2023, 8:33 AM