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DOHA/WASHINGTON, Apr 28The first Arab astronaut from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sultan al-Neyadi, left the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday after three years of training, the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center announced on Twitter.
«UAE astronaut Sultan al «Neyadi is outside the ISS in open space for the first time in the history of the Arab world. Together with American astronaut Steve Bowen, they began the task,» the center said. This is Bowen's eighth career spacewalk.
Earlier, the press office of the Dubai government said that this historic mission will last outside the International Space Station for about 6.5 hours. The center clarified that the Emirati cosmonaut had been preparing for a walk in space for three years, in particular, he learned to put on a spacesuit and perform all the tasks that he might need to work in outer space, demonstrating full readiness for this mission.
Earlier, al-Neyadi said on Twitter that he, along with US astronaut Steve Bowen, will perform a spacewalk to «replace the radio frequency communications group and prepare for the installation of solar panels.»
The astronauts are scheduled to complete the installation work to install a new pair of iROSA solar panels, which will be delivered to the station in the summer by a US cargo spacecraft. New solar panels supply additional electricity to the station. In total, three pairs of new panels are to be added to the ISS as part of the ongoing modernization of its energy system.
Sultan Al Neyadi has become the second UAE astronaut to fly into space. He arrived at MSC on the American ship Crew Dragon on March 3rd. Unlike his predecessor, Hazza al-Mansouri, who spent only eight days on the ISS in September 2019, al-Neyadi plans to become the first Arab cosmonaut to complete a long-duration spaceflight.
NASA has been upgrading the ISS power system since 2021 . So far, four iROSA antennas have been installed, and two more are planned. NASA expects that upon completion of the work, the power generation capacity of the station will increase by 30%, and the total power available at the station will increase from 160 to 215 kilowatts.
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