Bloomberg Businessweek - USA (2020-06-29)

44

MANSOURI:

MAXIM

SHIPENKOV/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK.

ZAYED:

GULF

NEWS

BloombergBusinessweek June 29, 2020

n theafternoonofSept. 25 lastyear,HazzaAlMansouri

walked agantlet ofcameraphone-wieldingwell-

wishersatKazakhstan’sBaikonurCosmodrome.In

steptohisleftwereRussiancommanderOlegSkripochka,

a veteranonhisthirdmission,andAmericanflightengineer

JessicaMeir,a first-timerlikeMansouri.Theirwhite-and-blue

Sokolspacesuitsmadethemappearhunchedandungainly,

thecommunicationcapscoveringallbuta patchofface—

inMansouri’scase,darkeyes,a close-croppedbeard,and

mostofa prominentforehead.Aheadoftheastronautswere

160 verticalfeetofa SoyuzMS-15spacecraftandtheelevator

thatwouldtakethemtoitsverytip.

Mansouriwavedtohiswifeandthreechildren.They’dsaid

goodbyesearlierthatdaythroughtheglassofthequarantine

complexwhereastronautsspendtwoweeksbeforelaunch.

Notbeingabletohughadbeendifficult,giventherisksof

whatMansouriwasabouttodo.ThepreviousOctober,a

boosterforanotherSoyuzcraft,MS-10,hadfaileda fewmin-

utesafterliftoff,forcingthecrewtoejectandparachuteback

toEarthina showerofdebris.

TheMS-15crewhadobservedthesamesuperstitioustra-

ditionsasalltheotherswho’dtakenofffromBaikonursince

theearly1970s:plantingsaplingsontheavenueoftrees,auto-

graphingtheirbedroomdoors,watchingtheSovietaction

filmWhiteSunoftheDesert. AsMansouriwalked,herealized

heandhiscrewmateslookedjustliketheastronautsinpho-

toshe’dporedoverasa child,exceptthistimeoneoftheir

suits—his—hadtheUnitedArabEmiratesflagonitsarm.

Shortly before5 theywere strappedinandstarting

prelaunchprepforthesix-hourjourneytotheInternational

SpaceStation(ISS).A playlistthey’dcompiledbeganpiping

throughtheirheadsets—anothertradition,begunin 1961 by

YuriGagarinbeforehebecamethefirsthumantogotoouter

space.Mansouri’schoicesincludedtheSwedish-Lebanese

singerMaherZain’sUmmi(Mother), intributetohisown.As

hewaited,hetriedtofocusonhistraining,hiscountry,and

the 64 successfulSoyuzlaunchespriortoMS-10.

Nightfell,andbanksoffloodlightslitupthelaunchpad.At

6:57:43thefirststagesignited.Smokevented,andtherocket

easedfromthegroundona greatflame.Twomilesup,the

strap-onboostersexhaustedtheirliquidfuelandfellaway.

Insidethecrewcompartment,it wasonlynoise,vibration,and

intensifyingG-force—toppingout,asthecraftreachedalmost

18,000mph,atfourtimestheastronauts’bodyweight.Their

breathcameonlyingasps.It wasbeyondanythingMansouri

hadexperiencedasanF-16pilotwiththeEmiratiairforce.

Roughly 62 milesup,thenosefairingjettisoned,andthe

crewcouldseeoutside.Earth’scurvewasstarkagainstthe

blackofspace.Mansouristaredandstared,untilSkripochka

interrupted.“Hazza,”hesaid.“Youhaveyourchecklist.”

Therewasa hugekickwhenthethirdstagestoppedfiring

andfellaway,thengravityretreatedandbloodrushedtotheir

heads.MansouriandMeirtookouttheirpensandlaughedin

delightastheyfloatedaway.

DownbelowinDubai,themostpopulousoftheUAE’s

sevenemirates,Mansouri’sfacewasbeingprojectedonto

theBurj Khalifa,theworld’stallestbuilding.Atage35,

he’dbecomethethirdArabtoreachorbitandmadethe

UAEthe40thspacefaringnation.Asa designated“space-

flightparticipant,”though,hewouldstayonboardforjust

eightdays,thenreturnaboarda differentvessel,theMS-12,

withitscrew.HistriphadbeenpurchasedbytheUAEfrom

Roscosmos,Russia’sspaceagency,foranundisclosedsum.

Arrangementslikethis,alongwithcost-loweringtechnolog-

icaladvancementsandnewcommercialventures,havemade

spacenolongerthesolepreserveofgreatpowers.Countries

assmallastheUAE,witha populationofjustunder 10 million,

canparticipate,too,if theyhavethedesireforprestigeandthe

resourcestoacquireit.Mansouri’sflightwasonestepinan

ambitiousnationalprogramthat’sscheduledtosenda probe

toMarsbetweenmid-Julyandmid-Augustandthathasdesigns

onmakingtheUAEa hubforspacetourism.Thecountryhas

movedaheadofneighboringSaudiArabiatoleada regional

jostlethatalsoincludestheircommonrival,Iran.

ThetwoGulfkingdomshavemadespacepartoffar-

reachingplanstomodernizeanddiversifytheireconomies.

Theirmovesinthisdirection,though,haven’tprevented

persistentaccusationsofhuman-rightsabusesathomeand

criticismoftheirongoinginvolvementinYemen’scivilwar.

Thequestion,formany,iswhetherthere’srealsubstance

tothedriveforspace,orif it’sintendedmostlytorevise

globalperceptions.

audiArabiawasthefirstMiddleEasternpowertogetan

astronauttospace.In 1976 it tooka leadingroleinthe

formationofmultinationalsatellitecommunications

companyArabsat,whichputit inprimepositionthefollowing

decadewhenNASA’sspaceshuttleprogramstartedlaunch-

ingcraftonbehalfofprivateorganizationsandforeignstates.

Thecrewforthesemissionssometimesincludeda “payload

specialist”—an astronaut not subject to the usual selection and

training process. And so, in June 1985, when the Arabsat-1B

satellite was scheduled for launch on the Discovery, one seat

was allocated to Saudi Arabia.

The spot was filled by Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz

Al Saud. At 28 he was one of the youngest astronauts ever,

O

S

Mansouri, the first Emirati in space, waves before boarding a Soyuz rocket to the ISS in September 2019 ▼