Sultan Al Neyadi is all set to create history by becoming the first Arab astronaut to undertake a spacewalk during Expedition 69 on the International Space Station (ISS). Scheduled for today, April 28, the UAE will become the 10th country to perform a spacewalk on the ISS, while Al Neyadi will be part of the 261st spacewalk in support of assembly, maintenance, and upgrades on the space station.
The fourth spacewalk of this year on the ISS will be a momentous occasion as Al Neyadi and NASA Flight Engineer Stephen Bowen work together to carry out essential tasks. The highly anticipated EVA is projected to last approximately 6.5 hours. One of the primary objectives of the EVA will be to retrieve a crucial Radio Frequency Group (RFG) unit, which is an integral component of the S-Band communications string on the ISS. This essential piece of communications equipment will be returned to Earth on a SpaceX flight.
In addition to the primary task, Al Neyadi and his team will be working on a series of preparatory tasks related to the solar array installation EVAs planned for later in the mission. The solar arrays play a pivotal role in powering the ISS, providing clean and renewable energy to support the various experiments, systems, and daily operations on board.
Live coverage of the event will be available online starting at 4:30 PM UAE time, with the spacewalk set to begin at 5:15 PM UAE time.
The UAE Astronaut Programme is one of the projects managed by MBRSC under the UAE’s National Space Programme and funded by the ICT Fund of the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA), which aims to support research and development in the ICT sector in the UAE and promote the country’s integration on the global stage.
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