Sultan Al Neyadi completes Dragon capsule relocation mission


Sarwat Nasir
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UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi and three colleagues have redocked a Dragon spacecraft to another docking port at the International Space Station.

This was the spacecraft Dr Al Neyadi, Nasa astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg, and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev had arrived in to the ISS on March 3.

Nasa instructed the astronauts to redock the capsule from the station's Harmony module to the orbiting lab's forward Harmony port to clear up space for other spacecraft arriving later this month and in June.

"The SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour redocked to its new port and completed its relocation maneouver at 8:01am ET today," Nasa said.

The astronauts undocked from the ISS at 3.23pm GST on Saturday and a redocking took place at 4.01pm.

They have to stay in the capsule for two hours after redocking, so it is safe to open the hatch between the spacecraft and the ISS.

The relocation helped clear a dock for another Dragon spacecraft that is arriving later this month, bringing two Saudi astronauts and two Americans for a 10-day stay on the ISS.

It is also clearing space for cargo vessel that is expected to arrive in June.

Once the cargo spacecraft departs in late June, the crew will re-dock their spacecraft back at the original spot, so Boeing's Starliner spacecraft can dock on the forward Harmony port.

Nasa broadcasted the 43-minute-long task by live stream on its website and social media channels.

Mr Bowen served as the commander of the mission and Mr Hoburg was the pilot, al though, the capsule flies autonomously.

Dr Al Neyadi and Mr Fedyaev assisted with the transition manoeuvre.

The maneouver for the Dragon relocation mission. Source: MBRSC
The maneouver for the Dragon relocation mission. Source: MBRSC

Dr Al Neyadi and Mr Bowen stepped out of the ISS a week after their seven-hour spacewalk.

Dr Al Neyadi went into the record books as the first Arab to perform a spacewalk.

The astronauts spent the weekend preparing for the relocation.

“The quartet began Friday on morning by simulating their spacecraft manoeuvres in co-ordination with mission controllers on the ground,” Nasa said on Friday.

“Afterward, the foursome held a space-to-ground conference with the controllers discussing training, procedures and mission readiness.”

Freeing up a parking spot

The CRS-28 cargo mission will arrive in June carrying solar arrays to be installed during a spacewalk that month.

Dr Al Neyadi and Mr Bowen helped prepare a part of the ISS for the installation during their spacewalk on April 28.

Sultan Al Neyadi's historic spacewalk on April 28 — in pictures

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to wear a kandura

Dos

  • Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion 
  • Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
  • Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work 
  • Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester

Don’ts 

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Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier

Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November

UAE squad
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Yuki Means Happiness
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EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS

Estijaba – 8001717 –  number to call to request coronavirus testing

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Updated: May 06, 2023, 12:37 PM