Axiom Space is able to launch its second-ever private mission to the International Space Station on Sunday (May 21), a flight that may mark a series of spaceflight firsts.
The ten-day Ax-2 mission to the International Space Station has been cleared for launch, representatives from Axiom Space, NASA and SpaceX said Saturday (May 20) after completing one final launch readiness review. Liftoff is ready for 5:37 p.m. (2137 GMT) on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule, which can launch from Pad 39A of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
“It’s obviously a really, very exciting day,” Derek Hassmann, Axiom Space chief of mission integration and operations, told reporters in a teleconference this evening. “We worked an extended, very long time in collaboration with our partners at SpaceX and NASA to get thus far. The crew has been working very hard to get trained and they’re actually able to go.”
The mission will probably be a historic one; not only will it’s the second-ever all-private mission to the station, but it’ll also put the primary woman from Saudi Arabia in space — Rayyanah Barnawi — as a part of the nation’s first astronaut class. Commanding the mission is Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut who was the agency’s first female Chief Astronaut and first female commander of the space station. Now, she’ll be the primary woman to command a non-public spaceflight.
“Oh, let me let you know we’re slightly enthusiastic about this and the undeniable fact that we’re going to space shortly,” Whitson told reporters in a teleconference May 16.
You’ll be able to watch the Ax-2 launch live online on Space.com, courtesy of SpaceX and NASA. SpaceX’s launch webcast will begin at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT), while NASA’s livestream will begin at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT). There may be a 60% likelihood of excellent weather at launch time, Space Force weather officials said.
One final rocket check
Benji Reed, SpaceX’s senior director for human spaceflight programs, said that a final check of the mission’s Dragon capsule Freedom did reveal one issue that needed to be resolved. Nine fasteners on a panel near the highest of Dragon spacecraft had less thermal protection filler material than expected, Reed explained, so a team is using a crane near the rocket to achieve the location to fill the gaps in those fasteners in time for flight.
“We’re actually fairly confident that that might be okay that we could we could fly the dragon that way after which come back and reenter with the quantity of fill that we have now there. Those analyses are ongoing,” Reed said. “Nevertheless, in an abundance of caution, we have decided to go ahead and get those cells exactly to the quantity that they must be crammed with this thermal protective protection material on those nine fasteners.”
Reed said the method will probably be accomplished tonight.
“It’ll haven’t any impact, we expect, to the launch,” Reed said.
SpaceX is using its Dragon capsule Freedom to fly the Ax-2 mission. It previously flew the Crew-4 astronaut mission to the space station for NASA last yr. The Falcon 9 rocket on this flight appears to be recent, but will return to Earth about nine minutes after launch to land at SpaceX’s Landing Zone 1 on the nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
A crew able to fly
The Ax-2 crew represents a various field of astronauts. Serving as commander is Whitson, who currently holds records for spending more time in space (665 days) than another woman or American.
Alongside Whitson will probably be pilot John Shoffner, an experienced aviator and ham radio enthusiast. Shoffner is paying his way for the spaceflight experience under an agreement with Axiom Space.
“I feel like I have been preparing for this my entire life. I have been a fan of space since I used to be a toddler,” Shoffner said on May 16. “I grew up within the age of the early space race, so getting here now and having a likelihood to satisfy that excitement may be very, very powerful to me.”
Whitson and Shoffner will probably be joined by Saudi astronauts Barnawi and Ali Alqarni, representing the first astronaut class of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
“We’re really honored and privileged to have you ever guys and to be a part of this amazing mission,” Alqarni said within the May 16 briefing last week, adding that he and Barnawi “are really thrilled and excited for our mission and to represent Saudi Arabia on this journey.”
Barnawi added that she felt honored to turn into the primary Saudi woman to fly in space on the mission.
“I’m very honored and and completely satisfied to be representing all of the dreams and and all of the hopes of all of the people in Saudi Arabia and all the ladies back home,” she told reporters on May 16.
“May twenty first, 2023, the Saudi flag will land amongst the celebs,” Barnawi wrote in a Twitter post.
The 4 Ax-2 crewmembers will spend slightly over every week aboard the ISS, conducting greater than 20 groundbreaking scientific experiments including one that may test how microgravity affects stem cell growth. Along with science, the crew will engage in public outreach to advertise science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) for kids worldwide. “
We’re very excited for the part that will probably be engaging with kids from throughout Saudi Arabia and all around the world, talking about our experiments, talking about space and having them trigger their curiosity towards space,” Barnawi said.
As suggested by its name, Ax-2 is the second mission that Houston, Texas-based Axiom Space has flown to the ISS atop SpaceX hardware. Its first mission, Ax-1, saw 4 private astronauts spend over two weeks in microgravity on the orbiting laboratory in what was the primary all-private mission to the station.
Axiom has already signed an agreement with NASA for a 3rd mission, Ax-3, targeted for no sooner than 2023. Axiom Space also intends to construct a industrial space station in low Earth orbit to assist proceed research and technology development in space following the upcoming retirement of the ISS.
In training and launching these private missions, Axiom Space hopes to “provide universal access to low Earth orbit in order that innovators, governments and individuals can do the identical,” in response to its website. The corporate boasts a roster made up of former NASA astronauts and program managers alongside aerospace industry luminaries.
Editor’s note: You’ll be able to watch SpaceX’s Ax-2 private astronaut launch survive Space.com on Sunday, May 21, at 5:37 p.m. EDT (2127 GMT). Space.com Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik contributed to this report.