The private company SpaceX sent four astronauts from the US agency NASA to the International Space Station on Thursday, including the first person from the Arab world to leave for an extended stay in space.
The Falcon rocket launched early Thursday from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
On the Dragon spacecraft, which was due to arrive at the International Space Station on Friday, were two American astronauts, one Russian and one from the United Arab Emirates.
Around 80 spectators from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) watched the launch of the spacecraft at the site, which was carrying astronaut Sultan al-Neyadi, the second Emirati person to go into space, for a six-month mission.
In Dubai and elsewhere in the United Arab Emirates, schools and offices watched the launch live, which was covered by the media.
A technical problem had forced the American company SpaceX to cancel the launch of the rocket on February 27.
The mission was called off two minutes before the scheduled launch time, the company reporting that “there was no time to troubleshoot the engine ignition system.”
These astronauts will replace an American-Russian-Japanese crew that has been on the International Space Station since October.
Saudi Prince Sultan bin Salman was the first Arab to go into space aboard the shuttle Discovery in 1985.
Source: TSF
