UAE space mission delayed over technical issue

By Ibrahim al-Khazen

ISTANBUL (AA) - 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