UAE astronaut Sultan Al-Neyadi became the first Arab to make a spacewalk on the International Space Station (ISS) during Expedition 69.
They spend 7.01 hours in space, make history in the vacuum of space, and find out two objectives, one of which is the Extravehicular Activity (EVA) by Sultan Al-Neyadi with the company of flight engineer Stephen Bowen, who both work on a series of rotating power cables, which was successfully completed.
The cable work was completed for the installation of the space station’s fourth rollout solar array, termed the International Space Station Rollout Solar Array (iROSA). On the upcoming mission named “cargo mission,” another objective was to receive or decode a crucial radio frequency group (RFG) unit, which works as a communication antenna.
Before embarking on space, Sultan and Bowen go through oxygen purification for two hours to eliminate nitrogen from their bodies. Their space suits were worn by Warren Hoburg and Frank Rabio. It uses a space suit and safety gear before entering the airlock to reduce the pressure. Some checks were conducted before the spacewalk, like safety issues at high altitude, where they suffer from two major challenges: radiation and extreme temperature.
The surrounding temperature of the space goes up to 120 degrees Celsius at the time of sunlight and goes below that to 150 degrees Celsius when it is out of sight. Managing the suite during the mission was a typical task to handle.
In the history of the UAE, Sulatn is the first person to complete a spacewalk, which was led by the ISS. Sultan Al-Neyadi was too excited and interested in the immense significance of this mission.
This record proves to be a milestone achievement for the Sultan and the ISS. Sultan recently completed a month in space after launching from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with six crew members on March 2.