Photos: Tracing the journey of UAE's Sultan Al Neyadi from launchpad to International Space Station

Members of the SpaceX Dragon Crew-6 mission, including UAE's Sultan Al Neyadi, as they are welcomed inside the International Space Station.

“I can’t be happier than this, seeing old friends in space, gathering as a big family. This is the essence of space exploration,” Al Neyadi said upon entering the station. “The UAE is taking a great step toward pushing the boundaries of exploration."

Hamad Al Mansoori, chairman of MBRSC, called the station from Dubai to wish Al Nayadi and his crew a safe and successful mission and said it represented “a huge milestone.”

SpaceX launched the four astronauts for NASA early Thursday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The Falcon rocket bolted from Kennedy Space Center shortly after midnight, illuminating the night sky as it headed up the East Coast.

Nearly 80 spectators from the United Arab Emirates watched from the launch site as astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi — only the second Emirati to fly to space — blasted off on his six-month mission.

Schools and offices broadcast the launch live across the UAE.

Al Neyadi, a communications engineer, thanked everyone in Arabic and then English once reaching orbit. “Launch was incredible. Amazing,” he said.

Al Neyadi served as backup for the first Emirati astronaut , Hazzaa Al Mansoori, who rode a Russian rocket to the space station in 2019 for a weeklong visit.

People watch the lauching of NASA and SpaceX Dragon Crew-6 mission to International Space Station, at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) in Dubai, UAE.

The UAE’s minister for public education and advanced technology, Sarah Al Amiri, said the long mission “provides us a new venue for science and scientific discovery for the country.”

“We don’t want to just go to space and then not have much to do there or not have impact," said the director general of the UAE's space center in Dubai, Salem Al Marri.

The UAE already have a spacecraft orbiting Mars, and a mini rover is hitching a ride to the moon on a Japanese lander. Two new UAE astronauts are training with NASA's latest astronaut picks in Houston.

NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 mission launches to the International Space Station from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft lifts off from pad 39A.

Members of the SpaceX Dragon Crew-6 mission waving from the inside of their Dragon Endeavour spacecraft ahead of the expected liftoff.

United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi wave as the crew depart for Launch Complex 39A.

NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 mission wave before they depart for Launch Complex 39A.

Members of the SpaceX Dragon Crew-6 mission; Mission Specialist Andrey Fedyaev of Roscosmos (L), Pilot Warren "Woody" Hoburg (2nd L), Commander Stephen Bowen (2nd R), and Mission Specialist Sultan Al Neyadi of the United Arab Emirates (R) gesture during the crew walkout from the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building for Launch Complex 39A.

Mission Specialist Sultan Al Neyadi of the United Arab Emirates gestures during the crew walkout.

NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 mission wave before they depart for Launch Complex 39A.

Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, left, NASA astronaut Warren "Woody" Hoburg, second from left, NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen, second from right, and United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi, right, as they prepare to depart the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building.