Ax-2 Mission To The ISS With 4 Launched Sunday
Teams were watching an anvil cloud as the only launch stopper, but it moved out of the area shortly before launch. AX-2 launched at 2:38 pm PST with Peggy Whitson, John Shoffner, Rayyanah Barnawi, and Ali Alqarni. Ali and Rayyanah are mission specialists from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Rayyanah Barnawi becomes the first Saudi woman in space!
Let Freedom Fly
The Axiom crew mission is called “Freedom” and successfully launched from Launch Complex 39a NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Commander Peggy Whitson exclaimed, “Let Freedom Fly” shortly after liftoff!
This is the second private mission to the International Space Station led by Axiom Space. Aboard the orbiting laboratory, the four-person, multinational crew will conduct extensive research, investigate novel technologies, and engage with audiences around the world as champions of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics. Their efforts will continue to lay the groundwork and establish the key capabilities needed to build out and operate Axiom Station, the world’s first commercial space station.
Dragon rendezvoused with the ISS and docked at 9:16 a.m. ET, Monday May 22nd with the hatch opening shortly after at 11:13 am ET. Eleven people are now aboard the International Space Station.
About Axiom Space
Axiom Space is building history, guided by the vision of a thriving home in space that benefits every human, everywhere. The leading provider of human spaceflight services and developer of human-rated space infrastructure, Axiom Space operates end-to-end missions to the International Space Station today while developing its successor, Axiom Station – a permanent commercial destination in low-Earth orbit that will sustain human growth off the planet and bring untold benefits back home.
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