Sultan Al Neyadi

Sultan Al Neyadi (Arabic: سلطان النيادي) is an Emirati astronaut and one of the first two astronauts from the United Arab Emirates, along with Hazza Al Mansouri.

Sultan Al Neyadi
Born (1981-05-23) 23 May 1981
Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
Other namesSultan Saif Muftah Hamad Al Neyadi
Alma materUniversity of Brighton
Griffith University
Space career
UAE Astronaut (2018)
Current occupation
Astronaut
Previous occupation
Engineer
Time in space
Currently in space
SelectionMBRSC Selection 1[1]
Total EVAs
1
Total EVA time
7 hours, 1 minute
MissionsSpaceX Crew-6 (Expedition 68/69)
Mission insignia

Personal life

Sultan Al Neyadi was born in Um Ghafa, a remote area outside Al Ain. He lived his childhood in his grandfather's house. He went to Um Ghafa Primary Boys School and Um Ghafa Secondary School. His father served in the UAE Armed Forces.[2] He is an avid practitioner of Brazilian jiu-jitsu and started training in the sport in 2016.[3]

Education and career

Graduated from school, Sultan joined the UAE Armed Forces. He studied in Britain at the University of Brighton, where he received a BSc (Hons) in Electronics and Communications Engineering in 2004. After being selected to become one of the first two Emirati astronauts, university vice-chancellor Debra Humphris said, "We are so proud of our graduate and will be watching his endeavours as an astronaut with great interest."

After going back to the UAE, he studied at Zayed Military College for a year. He worked in the UAE Armed Forces as a communications engineer.

In 2008, he went to Australia and received a master's degree in Information and Networks Security from Griffith University, where he returned in 2011 to complete a PhD in Data Leakage Prevention Technology.[4]

Astronaut career
Al Neyadi on ISS, April 2023

Al Neyadi was one of two people selected from 4,022 candidates to become the first Emirati astronauts, following a series of mental and physical tests in the UAE and Russia.[5] He went through the UAE Astronaut Programme at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre.

On 3 September 2018, UAE Prime Minister Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum tweeted: "We announced today our first astronauts to the International Space Station: Hazza Al Mansouri and Sultan Al Nayadi. Hazza and Sultan represent all young Arabs and represent the pinnacle of the UAE's ambitions."[6]

It was later announced that Al Mansouri would fly the first mission, with Al Neyadi as his back up, meaning Al Mansouri did his preparations to become the first person from the UAE to fly in space and Al Neyadi did his preparations to step in and fly the mission if anything were to happen to Al Mansouri that would compromise him flying the mission. Al Mansouri launched on Soyuz MS-15 on 25 September 2019 for an approximately eight-day mission on the ISS before returning to Earth on 3 October 2019.[7]

The MBRSC and Roscosmos engaged in negotiations to support a six-month ISS mission for a crew member from the UAE, which would be the first long-duration space mission in the Arab World. Al Neyadi would be the logical choice for the mission.[8] However, it was announced in April 2022 that MBRSC instead acquired a seat from Axiom Space for a UAE astronaut to travel to the ISS on NASA’s crew rotation flight, SpaceX Crew-6.[9] In July, Al Neyadi was officially assigned this seat, and reached space for the first time in March 2023.[10] On 28 April 2023, Al Neyadi became the first Arab to perform a spacewalk.[11]

References
  1. "Astronaut Biography: Sultan Al Neyadi". www.spacefacts.de. Retrieved 10 January 2020. | awards
  2. "Sultan Saif ALNEYADI". Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  3. Rogers, Kian. "UAE Astronaut Becomes First BJJ Practitioner In Space". JitsMagazine. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  4. "UAE's Sultan Al Neyadi to be first Arab astronaut to spend 6 months on ISS". Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  5. "More than 4,000 Emiratis apply to become UAE's first astronaut".
  6. "Sheikh Mohammed announcing Sultan as one of the first two Emirati astronauts".
  7. "MBRSC ASTRONAUTS – UAE Astronaut Programme". Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  8. "Коммерческий полет "Союза" на МКС планируется в 2022-2023 годах". РИА Новости (in Russian). 27 April 2020. Retrieved 2 June 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. "Axiom Space and the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center Sign Agreement for UAE Astronaut to Fly on the ISS in 2023". Axiom Space. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  10. "UAE's Sultan Al Neyadi to be first Arab astronaut to spend 6 months on ISS". 25 July 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  11. Clark, Stephen (28 April 2023). "Watch live: First Arab spacewalker heads outside International Space Station – Spaceflight Now". Retrieved 28 April 2023.
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