‘Let Freedom fly’: Private Axiom-2 mission launches to ISS

SpaceX launches the Axiom-2 all-private mission to the International Space Station. Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX launches Axiom Space’s second all-private crewed mission to the International Space Station using its Crew Dragon spacecraft.

Liftoff took place at 5:37 p.m. EDT (21:37 UTC) May 21, 2023, atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Flying aboard Crew Dragon Freedom is Axiom Space astronaut (and former NASA astronaut) Peggy Whitson as spacecraft commander, entrepreneur John Shoffner because the pilot, and two astronauts from Saudi Arabia — Ali AlQarni and Rayyanah Barnawi.

Axiom Space said this mission is the primary flight by the corporate with each private and government sponsored astronauts. It’s also the primary Crew Dragon to be commanded by a girl, and in addition includes the primary Arab female to orbit Earth.

“I first need to congratulate Peggy, John, Ali, and Rayyanah as they begin this historic mission,” said Michael Suffredini, president and CEO of Axiom Space, in an organization statement. “We’re ushering in a brand new era in business human spaceflight that’s opening the door to nations, where access to space moves beyond the partners of the ISS to incorporate countries, institutions, and individuals with recent ideas fueling human innovation in space. This journey is the culmination of long hours of coaching, planning, and dedication from the crew and the complete Axiom Space team, our partners at SpaceX, and naturally, a credit to NASA’s vision to develop a sustainable presence in low-Earth orbit.”

The Axiom-2 crew inside Crew Dragon during a dress rehearsal for launch. From left to right: Rayyanah Barnawi, John Shoffner, Peggy Whitson and Ali AlQarni. Credit: SpaceX

Sending this crew into space was SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. Its first stage was core B1080, which was on its first flight. Roughly 2.5 minutes into the ascent, the primary and second stages detached. The second stage continued pushing the Dragon capsule and Axiom-2 crew toward orbit, reaching it about 6.5 minutes later, while the primary stage performed a boostback burn to land at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Landing Zone 1.

This was the primary time a Falcon 9 first stage had returned to a ground-based landing pad after supporting a human spaceflight mission. All previous crewed flights saw the primary stage land on a drone ship downrange within the Atlantic Ocean.

The Crew Dragon getting used for the Axiom-2 mission is known as “Freedom.” It’s on its second flight to the space station and is anticipated to dock around 9:16 a.m. EDT (13:16 UTC) May 22.

Once there, the capsule will dock with the space-facing port of the Harmony module. After leak checks, the hatches between the 2 vehicles will likely be opened for the Axiom-2 crew to enterprise contained in the ISS to affix the seven-person Expedition 69 crew, which incorporates NASA astronauts Frank Rubio, Stephen Bowen and Warren Hoburg, Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev, Dmitry Petelin and Andrey Fedyaev.

In response to Axiom Space, the plan is for the Axiom-2 crew to spend about eight days docked to the outpost to perform greater than 20 experiments and technology demonstrations. Undocking is scheduled for May 30, pending weather, in response to NASA.

Like all Crew Dragon missions, the spacecraft will perform a deorbit burn a couple of day after undocking to reenter the atmosphere and parachute right down to the ocean off the coast of Florida.

This mission comes just over a yr after the Axiom-1 mission. Each are the primary steps for Axiom Space to realize experience sending crews to the ISS before the corporate begins flying its own modules to the outpost later this decade.

Axiom Space expects to eventually have its own everlasting crew aboard the orbiting laboratory. Once the ISS reaches the tip of its life around 2030, the Axiom segment of the outpost is anticipated to be detached to form an independent free-flying space station.