The space center in charge of the UAE’s human spaceflight program is considering a variety of flying alternatives for its astronauts. The United Arab Emirates presently has four astronauts, two of whom were chosen in April from a pool of over 4,300 applications. Only one has spent time in orbit, Hazzaa AlMansoori, who launched on a Soyuz mission in September 2019 and spent a week on the International Space Station.
During the 72nd International Astronautical Congress here on Oct. 28, Salem AlMarri, deputy director general of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), claimed that a Soyuz voyage was the only option for flying an Emirati astronaut at the time. Commercial crew vehicles, including as SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, are now available, opening up new possibilities. “In comparison to a few years ago, the environment for flight options is extremely rich today,” he remarked. “There are a lot of choices that we can look at from a commercial or government-to-government basis, whereas there was basically only one option a few years ago, which was Soyuz.”
Source: https://spacenews.com/u-a-e-examining-options-for-future-human-spaceflight-missions/