Two astronauts returned to Earth on Tuesday after being stuck on the International Space Station (ISS) for nine months due to several technical faults with their Boeing Starliner spacecraft.
Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore undocked from the ISS aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule at 9.05am GST, along with two other astronauts, and splashed down off the coast of Florida at 6.57pm local time.
Their departure marked the end of a mission that was supposed to last about eight days. US President Donald Trump ordered billionaire Elon Musk to bring the astronauts home, blaming predecessor Joe Biden for abandoning them.
Mr Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on Monday to say that he had spoken to Nasa’s acting administrator, Janet Petro, who was co-ordinating with “our team of highly respected scientists, space engineers and various other geniuses” to bring the astronauts home.
“This began when I asked Elon Musk to go up and get the abandoned astronauts, because the Biden administration was incapable of doing so,” Mr Trump said. “They shamefully forgot about the astronauts, because they considered it to be a very embarrassing event for them – another thing I inherited from that failed group of incompetents.”
The Crew-9 return, of which Ms Williams and Mr Wilmore became a part after their own return was delayed, was made possible after a replacement group, Crew-10, arrived at the ISS on Sunday.
Their return became a priority for the new US administration. Mr Trump and Mr Musk said they offered Nasa an earlier opportunity to bring the astronauts back but claimed it was declined by the Biden administration.
Dr Gordon Osinski, an Earth sciences professor and planetary geologist at the Western University in Canada, told The National that “it has always been the plan” for a SpaceX vehicle to bring the astronauts back after the Starliner suffered technical issues.
“I can only speculate on what President Trump expects to gain from this, but the facts are that the plan to return Sunita Williams and Barry [Butch] Wilmore from the ISS were actually made under the previous administration, well before the President was sworn in,” said Dr Osinski. “The original schedule under the previous administration was actually for this flight to occur in February, so perhaps this is the urgency.”
During a video media conference held with the astronauts on the ISS on March 6, Mr Wilmore said they had “heard some of these different things that have been said”. He added: “I can tell you, at the outset, all of us have the utmost respect for Mr Musk and obviously [we have] respect and admiration for our President of the United States, Donald Trump. The words they've said, politics, I mean, that's part of life. We understand that. And there's an important reason why we have a political system and the political system that we do have, and we're behind it 100 per cent.”
Nasa's struggle of getting 'taxi' options into orbit
Ms Williams and Mr Wilmore began their mission aboard the Boeing Starliner capsule on June 5 as part of the first crewed test flight under Nasa’s Commercial Crew Programme, which aims to give the agency “taxi” options for its astronauts to fly into orbit. SpaceX, however, continues to be only reliable option in the US, having flown 10 crews to the ISS for the agency so far.
Josh Colwell, associate dean of the College of Sciences at The University of Central Florida, told The National that the technical problems with the Starliner vehicle “are the kinds of things that normally come up during a testing programme”.
“This was a test mission, and the result of that test was the discovery of some subsystems that need work before full flight certification of the vehicle. It is better to have multiple options for any activity, and access to space is no exception,” Dr Colwell said.
“Nasa, and the space programme as a whole, will be better off with multiple options for getting people to space. Nothing about this particular test flight should affect the plan that Nasa had in place for commercial crew operations, but I cannot predict what decisions the government or agency will make regarding these programmes and whether they have anything to do with the Starliner test mission.”
Mr Musk leads the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency, which has been charged with reducing federal spending. Nasa is expected to be affected, with reports suggesting there could be a 50 per cent cut in the agency’s spending on scientific activities.
On Monday, Nasa was given a one-week extension to a White House directive to develop a plan of restructuring the agency’s workforce, which includes “large-scale layoffs”.
The future of the Starliner programme is also uncertain. Boeing has developed the Starliner for nearly a decade but the programme has faced various technical issues over the years. On this first crewed test flight, the spacecraft suffered helium leaks and thruster issues.
“The fact that it has taken so long to return Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore from the ISS is an excellent demonstration as to why we need more options to transport crew and cargo to the ISS,” said Dr Osinski. “There needs to be redundancy in case of unexpected events.”
Cost of progress
There is a lot of uncertainty about the US space programme, including how potential budget cuts would affect Nasa and its partners. Mr Musk has previously called the ISS to be retired early so that resources can be redirected to preparations for crewed missions to Mars.
The Planetary Society, a US non-profit organisation, has described the proposed 50 per cent cut to Nasa’s scientific activities budget as an “extinction event” for space science and exploration.
Lin Kayser, co-founder of Dubai company Leap 71, which develops artificial intelligence models to generate rocket engines, told The National that “a cut of that magnitude would be disastrous for the US”.
“Many current and future programmes depend on Nasa’s personnel and institutional expertise,” Mr Kayser said. “I don’t think it will happen at that scale, though. But projects will face increased scrutiny, especially under the efficiency standards promoted by figures like Elon Musk.”
He said if Jared Isaacman, the billionaire who founded payment processing company Shift4, was confirmed as Nasa's new Nasa administrator, he was unlikely to “pursue anything radical”.
“But right now, a lot remains uncertain,” Mr Kayser said. “Private companies have little incentive to fund pure science missions, though there may be opportunities for Nasa to outsource certain aspects. In the current climate, it’s difficult to predict where this will lead.”
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
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TOURNAMENT INFO
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
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
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- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
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Photographer: Mateusz Stefanowski at Art Factory
Videographer: Jear Valasquez
Fashion director: Sarah Maisey
Make-up: Gulum Erzincan at Art Factory
Model: Randa at Art Factory Videographer’s assistant: Zanong Magat
Photographer’s assistant: Sophia Shlykova
With thanks to Jubail Mangrove Park, Jubail Island, Abu Dhabi
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HIV on the rise in the region
A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.
New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.
Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.
Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.
Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
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Titanium Escrow profile
Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
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Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
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• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
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In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
Stormy seas
Weather warnings show that Storm Eunice is soon to make landfall. The videographer and I are scrambling to return to the other side of the Channel before it does. As we race to the port of Calais, I see miles of wire fencing topped with barbed wire all around it, a silent ‘Keep Out’ sign for those who, unlike us, aren’t lucky enough to have the right to move freely and safely across borders.
We set sail on a giant ferry whose length dwarfs the dinghies migrants use by nearly a 100 times. Despite the windy rain lashing at the portholes, we arrive safely in Dover; grateful but acutely aware of the miserable conditions the people we’ve left behind are in and of the privilege of choice.
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