Russian space agency Roscosmos announced on Thursday that the date of the first Emirati astronaut’s flight to the International Space Station (ISS) on the Russian spacecraft Soyuz will be determined before mid-February.
The Roscosmos delegation held a meeting with the representatives of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center and discussed Roscosmos’ obligations toward organizing the UAE astronaut’s flight to the Russian section of the ISS, Roscosmos told Sputnik news agency. It added the date of the flight will be determined before mid-February.
In September, the United Arab Emirates announced the selection of the first UAE astronaut in collaboration with Roscosmos, among 4,000 young Emirati men and women tested for the UAE Astronautics Program, which aims to qualify and send UAE astronauts to outer space for scientific missions.
The UAE announced earlier that the first Emirati astronaut to fly into space will be in April 2019 on a 10-day mission as part of a Russian space mission to the ISS.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
