Dubai: The United Arab Emirates has purchased a seat on a SpaceX rocket for an Emirati astronaut to journey to the International Space Station for a six-month stay, officials said Friday, the oil-rich federation's first long-term mission as it advances its ambitions in space.
The UAE purchased the seat on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket through a private Houston-based company, Axiom Space, a space tour operator that has been leading efforts to commercialize the industry. The mission is scheduled for launch next year from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This will mark the UAE's second time sending an astronaut into space. In 2019, Maj. Hazzaa al-Mansoori spent an eight-day mission aboard the International Space Station. The UAE statement did not identify the astronaut picked for the 2023 mission.