Russia’s Soyuz Rocket the Preferred Method of Travel to the ISS These Days

Add the United Arab Emirates to the list of countries sending astronauts to the International Space Station. The small country along the Arabian peninsula is new to space exploration, but they’re rich a.f., and they’re ambitious, too. After all, have you seen Dubai? The U.A.E. is also the country where those super cool jet-powered wingsuits were tested a few years ago. Now they’re doing what we do—hitching rides to space from the Russians aboard a Soyuz rocket.

Watch the Launch (Previously Live):

The U.A.E.’s first astronaut is Hazzaa al-Mansoori, and he’s like the Emarati “Maverick” from Top Gun. Well, he’s a former fighter pilot, anyway. F-16s to be exact, and probably not from an aircraft carrier. This trip is just the beginning for what Emirati officials hope will be a great space program. In fact, they plan on sending a robot to Mars next year.

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The fact is, the U.A.E. has a ton of money from its oil reserves. That’s all well and good, but if humanity knows what’s good for it (and believe me, I know what a big “if” that is) it will get off of dependence on oil soon. At that point, who knows how the Arabian countries are going to support themselves? A big investment in a top-notch space program could be a step in the right direction.

The fact that private companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Orbit are competing to drive the price of space travel down also helps with timing for the U.A.E. After all, Russian rocket rides are expensive, and not all they’re cracked up to be. Once SpaceX gets Crew Dragon operational, it’ll theoretically be able to send astronauts from all over the world to the ISS for much less than countries are currently paying Putin and pals.

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