The United Arab Emirates has purchased a seat on a SpaceX rocket for an Emirati astronaut to travel to the International Space Station for a six-month mission.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – The United Arab Emirates has bought a seat on a SpaceX rocket for an Emirati astronaut to travel to the International Space Station for a six-month stay, officials said Friday, the wealthy federation’s first long-term trip. in oil. mission as you progress in his ambitions in space.
The United Arab Emirates bought the seat on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket through a private company based in Houston, Axiom Space, a space tour operator that has led efforts to commercialize the industry. The mission is scheduled to launch next year from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
This will mark the second time the UAE has sent an astronaut into space. In 2019, Major Hazzaa al-Mansoori spent an eight-day mission aboard the International Space Station. The UAE statement did not identify the astronaut chosen for the 2023 mission.
The statement also did not say how much the country paid for Elon Musk’s prized seat on the SpaceX-built rocket. Axiom’s ticket price for wealthy citizens who paid for their trip to the International Space Station earlier this month was $55 million each for the rocket ride and accommodations.
Friday’s announcement is part of a flurry of activity in the United Arab Emirates’ space program. Last year, the UAE put its satellite Amal, or Hope, into orbit around Mars for the first time in the Arab world. In 2024, the country hopes to put an unmanned spacecraft on the moon.
The United Arab Emirates has also set an ambitious goal of building a human colony on Mars by 2117.