Launching at 5:37 PM ET, the SpaceX Falcon 9 with Crew Dragon Freedom lifted off from LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center. That is the 2nd mission for Crew Dragon Freedom, previously supporting the Crew-4 launch in April 2022.
Liftoff of Ax-2! pic.twitter.com/YS3SDuStNy
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 21, 2023
Axiom-2 consists of 4 astronauts, Commander Peggy Whitson, a retired NASA Astronaut and now Director of Human Space Flight for Axiom Space, has spent 665 days in space, including quite a few spacewalks while living aboard the International Space Station. The designated pilot for this mission is John Shofner, an American race automobile driver and pilot, who paid for his seat.
There are two Mission Specialists flying as well. First is Rayyanah Barnawi, who holds a bachelor’s degree in biomedical research and is the primary Saudi female Astronaut. Flying alongside her is Ali AlQarni, who also holds a bachelor’s in aeronautical sciences and is a Captain in Royal Saudi Air Force. The Saudi Space Commission paid for each seats.
B1080 flying through hazy conditions to successfully send AX-2 to the ISS (Richard Angle)
It’s estimated that the associated fee for every seat is roughly $55 million, this includes the ride to space, food, and using the facilities aboard the International Space Station.
The 4 crew members will spend 8 days aboard the orbiting outpost conducting quite a few experiments and media outreach. Originally the mission was to be ten days, but because of the scheduling of supply missions to the International Space Station, the mission was shortened to eight days. The crew is anticipated to reach on the International Space Station roughly 16 hours after launch from Kennedy Space Center, where they can be greeted by the 7 current astronauts and cosmonauts living aboard the ISS.
This launch also was the primary time a Falcon 9 performed a Return to Launch Site (RTLS) for a Crewed mission. Due to their quite a few Starlink launches, SpaceX has been in a position to show the Falcon 9 has the capabilities to finish the RTLS safely, which may also help with a quicker turnaround time for the boosters used on Crew and Resupply missions to the ISS.
Falcon 9’s first stage booster has landed on Landing Zone 1, a primary for a human spaceflight mission pic.twitter.com/VhjpruRbMC
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 21, 2023
The primary stage that accomplished this flight is a rookie amongst the Falcon 9 fleet, B1080, completing its first flight. It could have showed a couple of nerves at first, with a small leak in its attitude control system that’s used through the landing sequence of its flight. Nonetheless, the leak proved to not be a difficulty, as B1080 performed an ideal landing at LZ-1 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
Following their stay aboard the ISS, the Crew disembark and make a fiery plunge through the atmosphere with a parachute-assisted landing off of the Florida coast.
