UAE space tourist's flight on Blue Origin delayed


Sarwat Nasir
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A Blue Origin flight that will launch a UAE resident into space has been delayed to allow engineers to make repairs on the spacecraft.

Hamish Harding, 50, a British adventurer who has lived in the Emirates for more than a decade, was due to fly on the New Shepard suborbital flight on Friday.

The space tourism company has not announced a new date yet.

“During our final vehicle check-outs, we observed one of New Shepard's back-up systems was not meeting our expectations for performance,” said Blue Origin in a statement.

“In an abundance of caution, we will be delaying the NS-21 launch originally scheduled for Friday. Stay tuned for further updates."

Hamish Harding, a British adventurer in UAE, will fly on the next Blue Origin suborbital flight. Chris Whiteoak / The National
Hamish Harding, a British adventurer in UAE, will fly on the next Blue Origin suborbital flight. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Mr Harding is a businessman who owns Action Aviation, which provides aircraft brokerage services to many business jet and helicopter owners.

However, he is better known in the UAE for his adrenalin-fuelled stunts, including journeying to the bottom of the ocean in a submarine in 2021.

Other paying customers in the NS-21 flight include space tourist Evan Dick; electrical engineer and former Nasa test engineer Katya Echazarreta, also the first Mexican-born woman to fly into space; civil production engineer Victor Correa Hespanha; and adventurer Jaison Robinson.

This mission will be the fifth human flight for Blue Origin’s New Shepard programme and the team was announced by the company on May 9.

The space tourism company has launched 20 people on these flights since 2021, including company owner and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Star Trek actor William Shatner.

The suborbital flight involves a vertical launch that takes passengers about 106 kilometres above the ground, bringing a few minutes of weightlessness.

It is a 10-minute trip from lift-off near the rural West Texas town of Van Horn to a parachute landing.

The ticket price of a Blue Origin flight has not been revealed, but a ticket was previously sold for $28 million in an auction.

If you go

The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Seattle from Dh5,555 return, including taxes.


The car
Hertz offers compact car rental from about $300 (Dh1,100) per week, including taxes. Emirates Skywards members can earn points on their car hire through Hertz.


The national park
Entry to Mount Rainier National Park costs $30 for one vehicle and passengers for up to seven days. Accommodation can be booked through mtrainierguestservices.com. Prices vary according to season. Rooms at the Holiday Inn Yakima cost from $125 per night, excluding breakfast.

THE SPECS

Engine: 1.5-litre, four-cylinder turbo

Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch automatic

Power: 169bhp

Torque: 250Nm

Price: Dh54,500

On sale: now

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The specs
Engine: 2.5-litre, turbocharged 5-cylinder

Transmission: seven-speed auto

Power: 400hp

Torque: 500Nm

Price: Dh300,000 (estimate)

On sale: 2022 

'The worst thing you can eat'

Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.

Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines: 

Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.

Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.

Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.

Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.

Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

How to report a beggar

Abu Dhabi – Call 999 or 8002626 (Aman Service)

Dubai – Call 800243

Sharjah – Call 065632222

Ras Al Khaimah - Call 072053372

Ajman – Call 067401616

Umm Al Quwain – Call 999

Fujairah - Call 092051100 or 092224411

Challenge Cup result:

1. UAE 3 faults
2. Ireland 9 faults
3. Brazil 11 faults
4. Spain 15 faults
5. Great Britain 17 faults
6. New Zealand 20 faults
7. Italy 26 faults

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League quarter-final (first-leg score):

Juventus (1) v Ajax (1), Tuesday, 11pm UAE

Match will be shown on BeIN Sports

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
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Updated: May 19, 2022, 5:51 AM`