Axiom Space, a industrial space company based in Houston, Texas, is sending 4 more people to the International Space Station, including a retired NASA astronaut.
Axiom Space’s second crewed mission to space, called Ax-2, will launch from Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, where SpaceX launches its astronaut missions for NASA. The 4 crew members will ascend to the International Space Station (ISS) in a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft atop certainly one of the corporate’s Falcon 9 rockets. Launch is currently scheduled for Sunday (May 21) at 5:37 p.m. EDT (2137 GMT) and you’ll be able to watch live here at Space.com, via NASA and SpaceX.
Axiom’s first crewed mission to space, called Ax-1, launched on April 8, 2022 and lasted greater than 15 days in space. Ax-2 has a shorter duration; the 4 crewmembers will spend eight days aboard the orbital laboratory.
Here you’ll be able to meet the 4 individuals who will make up the crew of Axiom Space’s Ax-2 mission.
Live updates: Axiom Space Ax-2 private spaceflight with SpaceX: Live updates
Photos: The primary space tourists
Peggy Whitson, commander
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Peggy Whitson, serving as commander of Ax-2, has spent 665 days in space, greater than some other American astronaut or woman astronaut. She flew three missions to the International Space Station (Expeditions 5, 16, 50/51/52), setting two records for girls in space along the best way: Conducting 10 spacewalks; and commanding the orbiting complex twice.
Whitson also held quite a few senior positions at NASA, including chair of NASA’s astronaut selection board, chief of NASA’s operations branch and deputy division chief for each medical science, in accordance with her biography (opens in latest tab). She also served as co-chair of the U.S.-Russian mission science working group.
Whitson holds a Ph.D. and has degrees in biology, chemistry and biochemistry. Born on a farm in Iowa, she decided to be an astronaut in 1969 after watching the Apollo 11 moon landing on television. On Ax-2, she’s going to rack up one other milestone as the primary woman to command a personal space mission.
John Shoffner, pilot
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John Shoffner, Ax-2 pilot, is an aviator with greater than 8,500 flight hours in various industrial aircraft and helicopters.
Shoffner was founding father of Dura-Line Corporation, which laid fiber optic cable throughout the Nineteen Eighties throughout the early days of web networks. He left in 1997 for other interests, and founded J2-Racing (an endurance motorsports racing team) in 2012 alongside his wife and fellow skydiver, Janine.
His athletic pursuits include “cycling, white water kayaking, waterskiing, hang gliding, skydiving, base jumping, and motorsports”, his official biography states (opens in latest tab). He first got eager about space at age 8, making a young astronauts’ club in Middlesboro, Kentucky throughout the Gemini and Apollo eras. He’ll communicate with amateur radio enthusiasts with ham radio, which he began doing in his teenage years.
Ali Alqarni, mission specialist
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Ali Alqarni, Ax-2 mission specialist, is a Saudi Arabian astronaut. He’s a fighter pilot with nearly 2,400 flight hours of experience on types including the Cessna 172, T-6, T-38, F-15S and the Royal Saudi Air Force’s F-15SA, his biography states (opens in latest tab).
Alquarni first got eager about space during a visit to NASA’s Johnson Space Center, while training with the U.S. Air Force. His mission shall be the second overall for Saudi Arabia, and the primary from his country to go to the ISS. He has a bachelor’s degree in aerospace science and enjoys bungee jumping, mountain mountaineering, restoring antique cars, and family time.
Rayyanah Barnawi, Ax-2 mission specialist
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Rayyanah Barnawi, Ax-2 mission specialist, is the primary woman astronaut from Saudi Arabia.
Barnawi has several degrees in biomedical sciences, in accordance with her biography (opens in latest tab). She has worked for nearly a decade as a research lab technician in stem cells and tissue re-engineering at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh. Her work on Ax-2 will deal with stem cell and breast cancer research. Her hobbies include scuba diving, hang gliding, ledge swinging, river rafting and mountaineering, and he or she also has done wingsuit flying training.