Axiom Space will send its second commercial crew to the International Space Station no earlier than Sunday (May 21), and you can follow along with their journey below in photos.
Houston-based Axiom Space’s second crewed mission to space, called Ax-2, will launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and inside a Crew Dragon spacecraft. Liftoff is set for Sunday (May 21) at 5:37 p.m. EDT (2137 GMT), and you can watch live here at Space.com, via NASA and SpaceX.
Riding to space on Ax-2 will be commander Peggy Whitson (a retired NASA astronaut), U.S. pilot John Shoffner, Saudi mission specialist and fighter pilot Ali Alqarni, and mission specialist and research technician Rayyanah Barnawi, who will become the first Saudi woman in space.
Axiom’s first crewed mission to space, Ax-1, sent a crew to space for 17 days in April 2022. Ax-2 is expected to spend eight days docked to the International Space Station.
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The Ax-2 crew in training. From left: commander Peggy Whitson, mission specialist Rayyanah Barnawi, pilot John Shoffner and mission specialist Ali Alqarni. (Image credit: Axiom Space)
The Ax-2 crew does weightless training in a parabolic aircraft. From left: commander Peggy Whitson and pilot John Shoffner. (Image credit: Axiom Space)
The Ax-2 crew in the launch access arm at the NASA Kennedy Space Center, at the launch pad. From left: mission specialist Ali Alqarni, commander Peggy Whitson, pilot John Shoffner and mission specialist Rayyanah Barnawi. (Image credit: Axiom Space)
Ax-2 commander Peggy Whitson, who has spent 665 days in space already as a retired NASA astronaut and broken several records. (Image credit: Axiom Space)
Ax-2 mission specialist Rayyanah Barnawi, who will become the first Saudi woman in space. She has worked for nearly a decade as a research lab technician at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh. (Image credit: Axiom Space)
Ax-2 pilot John Shoffner, an investor and an aviator with more than 8,500 flight hours in various commercial aircraft and helicopters. Shoffner is a paying customer on Ax-2. (Image credit: Axiom Space)
Ax-2 mission specialist Ali Alqarni, a fighter pilot with the Royal Saudi Air Force with nearly 2,400 flight hours of experience. (Image credit: Axiom Space)
SpaceX rolls out the Falcon 9 rocket for Ax-2 on May 18, 2023. (Image credit: SpaceX)
A close-up view of the Ax-2 Dragon capsule, which is named Freedom, during its rollout to the launch pad on May 18, 2023. (Image credit: SpaceX via Twitter)
