Hazza Al Mansouri becomes first Emirati in space

The UAE send its first Emirati to space – Hazza Al Mansouri, an F-16 pilot and father of four with the pride of a nation on his shoulders.
At 5.56pm the Soyuz MS-15, with he and fellow astronauts Russian commander Oleg Skripochka and Nasa’s Jessica Meir, blast off into space, reaching 13,000kph on its way to the International Space Station.
Shortly after lift-off, the rocket will make what is known as a pitch manoeuvre, altering its trajectory to a different angle of ascent. To understand why, imagine throwing a ball straight up in the air. It will fall back along the same path. A pitch manoeuvre sends the rocket at an angle so that when the fuel is finished the ship is following the curvature of the Earth.
Docking happens in two stages. First the Soyuz fires its engines three times to put it at the same altitude of the ISS, until it gets to within 150 metres of the ISS. Then it aligns with the docking port.
The ship gives one final burst of its thrusters to engage its docking probe with the docking port. Because space is a vacuum, there is a very careful process for opening the hatches so the crew can enter the ISS.
The Soyuz connects to the ISS with eight hooks.
First, the ISS crew knock on the hatch of the Soyuz to let them know they are there - and the Soyuz crew knock back.
A thorough pressure check for leaks then takes place - this can take up to two hours.
Finally, the hatch can be opened and the Soyuz astronauts helped from their ship into the space station. This can take another 45 minutes to an hour.
It will likely be around nine or ten hours from lift-off before Maj Al Mansoori is safely inside the ISS, or around 1am - 2am UAE time
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid led congratulatory messages to the UAE, after the country's first astronaut successfully launched into space.
In a tweet, the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, said "Hazza Al Mansouri's arrival in space is a message for all Arab youths: that we can move forward and advance and catch up with the rest.
"Our next stop is Mars by means of the Hope Probe, designed and built by our young people."

The National