The UAE began the countdown to the launch of the first emirate astronaut on the ISS.
Dubai, UAE. The Muhammad bin Rashid Space Center began the countdown to the launch of the first cosmonaut from the United Arab Emirates, Hazza Al Mansouri, on the ISS. As previously reported, the astronaut will go into Earth’s orbit on the Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft on September 25, so that less than 100 days are left before the launch.
Together with the emirate, who will serve as flight engineer in flight, the crew will include Russian cosmonaut Oleg Skrypochka (commander) and American Jessica Meir (flight engineer). Currently, all three astronauts continue training at the Yu.A. Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City.
It is worth noting that at the same time as the crew, the team of understudies is also training, which includes the astronaut from the UAE, Sultan Al Neyadi. The first emirate astronaut will return to Earth on October 3 in a capsule for the Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft.
