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Saudi Day at Expo 2020 Dubai Celebrates Kingdom’s Growth

Saudi and Emirati officials attend the celebration of the Saudi Day at Expo 2020 Dubai. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi and Emirati officials attend the celebration of the Saudi Day at Expo 2020 Dubai. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Day at Expo 2020 Dubai Celebrates Kingdom’s Growth

Saudi and Emirati officials attend the celebration of the Saudi Day at Expo 2020 Dubai. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi and Emirati officials attend the celebration of the Saudi Day at Expo 2020 Dubai. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Saudi Day at the Expo 2020 in Dubai on Friday witnessed events and cultural performances celebrating the Kingdom’s growth in all fields under the ambitious Vision 2030.

In a speech at the inauguration ceremony, Saudi ambassador to the UAE Turki Aldakhil underlined his country’s keenness to share its vision towards a prosperous common future.

Pointing to the characteristics of Riyadh that qualify it to host Expo 2030, the ambassador emphasized the available opportunities in the Kingdom, which he said were reflected in the diverse content of the events and activities held on the Saudi Day.

The ceremony began with the Saudi and Emirati national anthems at the Nations Theater in Al Wasl Plaza and featured a performance by the Saudi Orchestra, a sound and light show on Al Wasl Dome, and fireworks on the Expo arenas in the colors of the Saudi flag.

The Saudi Day saw a range of activities and events that were held in several locations within the Expo 2020 Dubai, including a musical evening entitled, “Amjad” (glories), by Arab artist Mohammed Abdo and artist Ayed Youssef at the Jubilee Theater.

A parade toured the Expo and comprised several performance groups wearing traditional and modern Saudi outfits. A music festival and an airshow of the Green Falcons were also held on the occasion.

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Tech Billionaire Returns to Earth after First Private Spacewalk

This still image taken from a SpaceX and Polaris broadcast on September 12, 2024, shows US fintech billionaire Jared Isaacman (EV1) peeking out to space from a hatch structure called "Skywalker", during the first private spacewalk performed by the crew of the SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission. (Polaris Program / AFP)
This still image taken from a SpaceX and Polaris broadcast on September 12, 2024, shows US fintech billionaire Jared Isaacman (EV1) peeking out to space from a hatch structure called "Skywalker", during the first private spacewalk performed by the crew of the SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission. (Polaris Program / AFP)
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Tech Billionaire Returns to Earth after First Private Spacewalk

This still image taken from a SpaceX and Polaris broadcast on September 12, 2024, shows US fintech billionaire Jared Isaacman (EV1) peeking out to space from a hatch structure called "Skywalker", during the first private spacewalk performed by the crew of the SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission. (Polaris Program / AFP)
This still image taken from a SpaceX and Polaris broadcast on September 12, 2024, shows US fintech billionaire Jared Isaacman (EV1) peeking out to space from a hatch structure called "Skywalker", during the first private spacewalk performed by the crew of the SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission. (Polaris Program / AFP)

A billionaire spacewalker returned to Earth with his crew on Sunday, ending a five-day trip that lifted them higher than anyone has traveled since NASA’s moonwalkers.

SpaceX’s capsule splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico near Florida's Dry Tortugas in the predawn darkness, carrying tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, two SpaceX engineers and a former Air Force Thunderbird pilot.

They pulled off the first private spacewalk while orbiting nearly 460 miles (740 kilometers) above Earth, higher than the International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope. Their spacecraft hit a peak altitude of 875 miles (1,408 kilometers) following Tuesday’s liftoff.

Isaacman became only the 264th person to perform a spacewalk since the former Soviet Union scored the first in 1965, and SpaceX’s Sarah Gillis the 265th. Until now, all spacewalks were done by professional astronauts.

During Thursday's commercial spacewalk, the Dragon capsule’s hatch was open barely a half-hour. Isaacman emerged only up to his waist to briefly test SpaceX’s brand new spacesuit followed by Gillis, who was knee high as she flexed her arms and legs for several minutes. Gillis, a classically trained violinist, also held a performance in orbit earlier in the week.

The spacewalk lasted less than two hours, considerably shorter than those at the International Space Station. Most of that time was needed to depressurize the entire capsule and then restore the cabin air. Even SpaceX's Anna Menon and Scott “Kidd” Poteet, who remained strapped in, wore spacesuits.

SpaceX considers the brief exercise a starting point to test spacesuit technology for future, longer missions to Mars.

This was Isaacman’s second chartered flight with SpaceX, with two more still ahead under his personally financed space exploration program named Polaris after the North Star. He paid an undisclosed sum for his first spaceflight in 2021, taking along contest winners and a pediatric cancer survivor while raising more than $250 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

For the just completed so-called Polaris Dawn mission, the founder and CEO of the Shift4 credit card-processing company shared the cost with SpaceX. Isaacman won’t divulge how much he spent.