UAE astronauts Hazza Al Mansouri and Sultan Al Neyadi waved the UAE flag today at a ceremony to raise the flags of their crew members who participated in the mission of the astronauts aboard the Russian Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates and the Russian Federation. And the United States of America.
This comes within the framework of the arrangements prior to the launch to the International Space Station on Wednesday, September 25.
Al Mansouri, Sultan, Russian astronaut Oleg Scribochka, US astronaut Jessica Mir and members of the replacement crew, including Russian Sergey Rizikov and American Thomas Marshburn, attended the ceremony.
Al-Mansouri, Al-Neyadi and the main and alternative space mission teams visited the Baikonur Space Museum, which is a microcosm of this base. It contains different space equipment and miniature models of the types of missiles launched into space. They also signed the wall of Sergei Korolev in the museum. He is the chief architect and designer of the Soviet Union's space rockets in the 1940s and 1950s.
The astronauts arrived in Baikonur on September 10, and yesterday conducted several tests to verify the readiness of the so-called "Falcon" space suit worn inside the Soyuz spacecraft during the flight to the International Space Station and return to Earth.
The main and alternative crews conducted the first inspection of the Soyuz "MS-15" to ensure that all equipment, equipment and load were in place and to record any observations of the engineers responsible for the vehicle.
During the inspection, the UAE astronauts and their crew identified a set of safety and operating procedures for the Soyuz MS15 and conducted a test of equipment to be used in space.
It is noteworthy that the mission of the first Emirati astronaut to the International Space Station falls under the program "Emirates Astronauts", which is supervised by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center and is the first integrated program in the Arab region to prepare national cadres participating in manned space missions for various scientific missions They become part of the research of the international scientific community to devise solutions to many challenges that in turn help improve the lives of humans on Earth.
The Emirates Astronaut Program has the direct support of the Telecommunication and Information Technology Sector Development Fund, the financial arm of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), which was launched in 2007 and is the first of its kind in the Middle East. Supporting and developing technical services and promoting the integration of the state in the global economy.