Ibrahim al-Khazen
27 February 2023•Update: 27 February 2023
ISTANBUL
The launch of the Arab world's first long-term space mission for Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi was delayed Monday because of a ground problem, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced.
The "Crew-6" mission was scheduled to launch Monday from the Kennedy Space Center NASA in the US to conduct 19 research experiments on the International Space Station for six months.
The Falcon 9 space shuttle was just minutes away from launch when the problem was detected during final checks.
"Crew-6 launch was aborted due to ground systems issue," NASA announced on Twitter.
"Stay tuned for details on a new launch date and time."
A new launch date will be announced at a later date.
The UAE launched its astronaut program in 2017 to train and prepare a team of Emiratis to be sent into space for various scientific missions.
Writing by Ahmed Asmar
