Sultan Al Neyadi and Crew-6 crew successfully move Dragon to its new docking port
The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) today announced the successful success of Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi and the crew-6 crew in the mission to reset the docking site of SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station.
This is the third transfer of the Dragon from one port to another, as this task has been repeated on only two occasions, during the crew-1 and crew-2 missions.
Al-Neyadi participated in this mission alongside his fellow crew crew on board the International Space Station for Mission 6: Stephen Bowen (NASA), Warren Hoberg (NASA) and Andrey Vidyaev (Roscosmos).
The mission began at 3:23 pm UAE time, where the crew began to carry out the separation of the vehicle from the upper port facing space on the International Space Station, and after conducting a number of maneuvers that lasted about 38 minutes, the crew succeeded in re-docking the vehicle with the front port of the International Space Station, at 4:01 pm UAE time.
The mission was supported by NASA's Johnson Space Center Mission Control Center in Houston and SpaceX Control Center in Hawthorne, California, and monitored by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre team.
The evacuation of the station's upper port, facing space, will facilitate the docking of the upcoming Dragon cargo spacecraft, scheduled for launch in June, which will include payload No. 28 to the International Space Station, and includes folding solar arrays or what are known as IROSAs, in preparation for installing them at the station, through a number of spacewalks.
Earlier on Tuesday, the crew checked the pressure suits they wore during their short mission inside the Dragon. The crew also reviewed transport procedures, checked the vehicle's openings, and prepared its cabin to ensure that the task was completed smoothly.
Commenting on Al Neyadi's participation in the mission, Adnan Al Mohandes, Mission Manager of Zayed Ambition 2, UAE Astronaut Programme, said: "Sultan Al Neyadi and the crew of Crew-6 successfully transported the Dragon vehicle from one port to another aboard the ISS is a new milestone for Mission 69. We support the scientific objectives of the International Space Station and support its ongoing maintenance. As we anticipate further successes for the longest space mission in Arab history in the coming months, we look forward to benefiting from joint efforts and conducting more innovative experiments that will benefit humanity in the field of space exploration."
Sultan Al Neyadi became the first Arab to embark on a spacewalk, following the mission he carried out alongside American astronaut Stephen Bowen on April 28, which lasted for 7 hours and one minute, where one of the main objectives of this mission was to work on a series of preparatory tasks for the installation of solar panels, which was successfully achieved.
Over the past week, Al Neyadi and Bowen have also collaborated together at the Destiny Lab, where they worked on life support equipment. The astronauts took turns collecting water samples and replacing components from within Destiny's oxygen generation system.
The UAE Astronaut Programme, managed by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, is one of the projects funded by the Information and Communications Technology Fund (ICT), part of the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA), which aims to support research and development in the ICT sector.