SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket moved to launch pad for UAE astronaut’s flight

Lift-off scheduled to take place on Monday

UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi (second to right) and his crew mates completed a rehearsal of their launch day on February 24, 2023. Photo: SpaceX

SpaceX also completed a crucial static fire test - a ground test where the rocket's engines are fired. Photo: SpaceX

Right to left, UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi, Nasa astronaut Stephen Bowen, Nasa astronaut Woody Hoburg and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev seen during their launch rehearsal. Photo: Nasa

The launch rehearsal process involved donning their SpaceX pressure suits, riding Teslas to the launch pad and boarding an unfuelled rocket. Photo: Nasa

The crew get into their Teslas to go to the launch pad as part of a rehearsal. Photo: Nasa

Dr Al Neyadi is going on a six-month mission to the International Space Station. Photo: Nasa

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to launch the Crew-6 astronauts on February 27, 2023, from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. Photo: Nasa

This SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Crew-6 astronauts, including UAE's Sultan Al Neyadi, from Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida next week. Photo: Nasa

The rocket was into position for an engine firing test on February 25 and a launch attempt on February 27. 2023. Photo: Nasa

This will be the first time an Arab astronaut rides on a SpaceX rocket.

Space X shared this image of their spacecraft being moved into position ahead of blast-off on Monday. Photo: SpaceX

LIVESTREAM: Astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi's historic ISS launch

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that will carry the UAE's Sultan Al Neyadi and his three fellow astronauts to space has been moved to the launch pad.

Dr Al Neyadi is setting off on a six-month mission to the International Space Station. A launch is scheduled to take place on Monday at 10.45am GST.

On Friday, a static fire test — a ground test where the rocket’s engines are fired — will be carried out to ensure it is flight-ready.

The reusable booster rocket with the Dragon crew capsule on top will lift off from Launch Pad 39A at Nasa’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.

“Falcon 9 and Dragon rolling out of the hangar at Launch Complex 39A,” SpaceX tweeted.

The company was also meant to be launching a group of Starlink satellites on Sunday from another pad but said it was prioritising the Crew-6 launch.

“Team is completing pre-flight checkouts and setting up for no earlier than Sunday, February 26, for launch of Starlink; launch of Crew-6, which has priority, is currently targeted for Monday, February 27,” SpaceX said.

“If weather and all other aspects of Crew-6 are go, we’ll stand down from Sunday’s launch attempt of Starlink.”

The Crew-6 launch was delayed by a day to give SpaceX more time to get the rocket and spacecraft ready.

Nasa and SpaceX said they were analysing data from all previous Falcon 9 launches, after seeing evidence of combustion in the engine bay of a booster that launched previously.

That booster had been flown 12 times and the one carrying the crew is on its first flight.

“I don’t think those things are going to be a concern for the crewed flight but we don’t take things for granted. We want to make sure they’re really ready,” SpaceX's vice president of build and flight reliability Bill Gerstenmaier said on Tuesday.

There are other back-up launch dates of February 28 and from March 2 to 4 if things do not go as planned.

Steve Stich, commercial crew programme manager at Nasa, said that it was too early to forecast the weather for a launch.

The crew arrived in Florida on Tuesday and are in quarantine at the Kennedy Space Centre.