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It will pass over Saudi Arabia during its descent
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'Wish us luck': AlNeyadi ready to 'write history for Arabs', tweets ahead of spacewalk
The UAE astronaut has finalised his tool collections and Quest airlock configurations ahead of the event
Few hours before the historic spacewalk, UAE’s Sultan AlNeyadi took to Twitter on Friday to say that he is ready to “write a new history for the Arabs”.
“Wearing the spacesuit and proudly bearing the UAE flag on my arm, I will soon be undertaking the Arab world’s first spacewalk. Wish us luck!”, he added.
All set
Nasa also confirmed that Expedition 69 crew is ready for a spacewalk.
AlNeyadi and Bowen have finalised their tool collections and Quest airlock configurations a day before their six-and-a-half hour spacewalk begins.
“They have staged their Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs), or spacesuits, inside Quest and finished studying the procedures they will use to route power cables and retrieve an antenna on the station’s starboard truss structure. The external hardware work will ready the space station for its next set of roll-out solar arrays due to be installed after their delivery on the next SpaceX Dragon cargo mission,” Nasa noted.
Nasa flight engineers Frank Rubio and Woody Hoburg also took part in the final spacewalk preparations, including procedures review, tool checks, and a conference with engineers on the ground. Rubio and Hoburg will assist the spacewalkers in and out of their spacesuits. They will manoeuvre the Canadarm2 robotic arm and monitor AlNeyadi’s and Bowen’s the activities.
Battery power
AlNeyadi and Bowen will set their spacesuits to battery power at around 5.15pm (UAE time), signifying the beginning of their spacewalk.
This will be Bowen’s eighth career spacewalk and Alneyadi’s first. This is also the fourth spacewalk on the ISS for 2023, and the first for the current Expedition 69, that commenced in March this year.
Watch live
All eyes will be on AlNeyadi as he takes the first step for the Arab world’s historic spacewalk that will commence at 5.15pm (UAE time). It will be streamed live across various channels, including Khaleej Times' digital platforms. AlNeyadi’s family will be watching; the UAE and the world will be observing.
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