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SpaceX launches US, Russia, UAE astronauts to space station

March 2, 2023

By MARCIA DUNN | AP Aerospace Writer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Hawthorne-based SpaceX launched four astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA on Thursday, including the first person from the Arab world going up for an extended monthslong stay.

The Falcon rocket bolted from Kennedy Space Center shortly after midnight, illuminating the night sky as it headed up the East Coast.

Nearly 80 spectators from the United Arab Emirates watched from the launch site as astronaut Sultan al-Neyadi — only the second Emirati to fly to space — blasted off on his six-month mission.

Half a world away in Dubai and elsewhere across the UAE, schools and offices broadcast the launch live.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the crew capsule Endeavour lifts off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, March 2, 2023. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off in this time exposure photograph from Launch Pad 39-A Thursday, March 2, 2023, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Four astronauts are beginning a mission to the International Space Station. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the crew capsule Endeavour launches from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, March 2, 2023. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the crew capsule Endeavour lifts off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, March 2, 2023. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the crew capsule Endeavour launches from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, March 2, 2023. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the crew capsule Endeavour lifts off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, March 2, 2023. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Commander Stephen Bowen points at family members as he poses for a photo after leaving the Operations and Checkout building for a trip to Launch Pad 39-A, Wednesday, March 1, 2023, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Four astronauts are scheduled to liftoff early Thursday morning on a trip to the International Space Station. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, left, and Bob Cabana, NASA associate administrator watch as NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren “Woody” Hoburg, United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev prepare to depart the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building for Launch Complex 39A to board the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft for the Crew-6 mission launch, Wednesday, March 1, 2023, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (Joel Kowsky/NASA via AP)

Pilot Warren Hoburg smiles as he talks to family members after leaving the Operations and Checkout building for a trip to Launch Pad 39-A, Wednesday, March 1, 2023, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Four astronauts are scheduled to liftoff early Thursday morning on a trip to the International Space Station. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, left, NASA astronaut Warren “Woody” Hoburg, second from left, NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen, second from right, and United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, right, wear SpaceX spacesuits as they prepare to depart the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building for Launch Complex 39A to board the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft for the Crew-6 mission launch, Wednesday, March 1, 2023, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (Joel Kowsky/NASA via AP)

Russian cosmonaut Andrei Fedyaev waves to family members after leaving the Operations and Checkout building for a trip to Launch Pad 39-A, Wednesday, March 1, 2023, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan al-Neyadi waves from the backseat of a car after leaving the Operations and Checkout building for a trip to Launch Pad 39-A Wednesday, March 1, 2023, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Al-Neyadi is among four astronauts scheduled to liftoff early Thursday morning on a trip to the International Space Station. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Pilot Warren Hoburg talks to family members after leaving the Operations and Checkout building for a trip to Launch Pad 39-A, Wednesday, March 1, 2023, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Four astronauts are scheduled to liftoff early Thursday morning on a trip to the International Space Station. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan al-Neyadi waves to family members after leaving the Operations and Checkout building for a trip to Launch Pad 39-A, Wednesday, March 1, 2023, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Four astronauts are scheduled to liftoff early Thursday morning on a trip to the International Space Station. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Commander Stephen Bowen talks to support members after leaving the Operations and Checkout building for a trip to Launch Pad 39-A, Wednesday, March 1, 2023, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Four astronauts are scheduled to liftoff early Thursday morning on a trip to the International Space Station. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Russian cosmonaut Andrei Fedyaev meets with family members after leaving the Operations and Checkout building for a trip to Launch Pad 39-A, Wednesday, March 1, 2023, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the crew capsule Endeavour stands ready on pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Wednesday, March 1, 2023. The launch is scheduled for early Thursday morning. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

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Also riding the Dragon capsule that’s due at the space station on Friday: NASA’s Stephen Bowen, a retired Navy submariner who logged three space shuttle flights, and Warren “Woody” Hoburg, a former research scientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and space newbie, and Andrei Fedyaev, a space rookie who’s retired from the Russian Air Force.

“Welcome to orbit,” SpaceX Launch Control radioed, noting liftoff occurred four years to the day after the capsule’s first orbital test flight. “If you enjoyed your ride, please don’t forget to give us five stars.”

The first attempt to launch them was called off Monday at the last minute because of a clogged filter in the engine ignition system.

“It may have taken two times, but it was worth the trip,” Bowen said.

NASA’s space operations mission chief, Kathy Lueders, said Thursday’s launch enhanced a night sky already showcasing a conjunction of Venus and Jupiter. The two planets have appeared side by side all week, seeming to grow ever closer.

“We added a bright new star to that night sky tonight,” she told reporters.

The space station newcomers will replace a U.S.-Russian-Japanese crew that has been up there since October. The other station residents are two Russians and an American whose six-month stay was doubled, until September, after their Soyuz capsule sprang a leak. A replacement Soyuz arrived last weekend.

Al-Neyadi, a communications engineer, thanked everyone in Arabic and then English once reaching orbit. “Launch was incredible. Amazing,” he said.

He served as backup for the first Emirati astronaut, Hazzaa al-Mansoori, who rode a Russian rocket to the space station in 2019 for a weeklong visit. The oil-rich federation paid for al-Neyadi’s seat on the SpaceX flight.

The UAE’s minister for public education and advanced technology, Sarah al-Amiri, said the long mission “provides us a new venue for science and scientific discovery for the country.”

“We don’t want to just go to space and then not have much to do there or not have impact,” said the director general of the UAE’s space center in Dubai, Salem al-Marri.

The Emirates already have a spacecraft orbiting Mars, and a mini rover is hitching a ride to the moon on a Japanese lander. Two new UAE astronauts are training with NASA’s latest astronaut picks in Houston.

Saudi Prince Sultan bin Salman was the first Arab in space, launching aboard shuttle Discovery in 1985. He was followed two years later by Syrian astronaut Muhammed Faris, launched by Russia. Both were in space for about a week.

Al-Neyadi will be joined this spring by two Saudi astronauts going to the space station on a short private SpaceX flight paid by their government.

“It’s going to be really exciting, really interesting” to have three Arabs in space at once, he said last week. “Our region is also thirsty to learn more.”

He’s taking up lots of dates to share with his crewmates, especially during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month which begins this month. As for observing Ramadan in orbit, he said fasting isn’t compulsory since it could make him weak and jeopardize his mission.

Bowen, the crew’s leader, said the four have jelled well as a team despite differences between their countries. Even with the tension over the war in Ukraine, the U.S. and Russia have continued to work together on the space station and trade seats on rides there.

“It’s just tremendous to have the opportunity to fly with these guys,” Bowen said.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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SpaceX launches US, Russia, UAE astronauts to space station

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