2nd Axiom Space personal astronaut mission concludes with splashdown
WASHINGTON — A SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico late May possibly 30, concluding Axiom Space’s next personal astronaut mission to the Worldwide House Station.
The Crew Dragon spacecraft Freedom securely splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico close to Panama Town, Florida, at 11:05 p.m. Jap. Restoration crews rapidly bought the spacecraft on a SpaceX vessel and served the four-particular person crew out.
The spacecraft undocked from the ISS 12 several hours earlier, concluding an eight-day remain at the station on the Ax-2 mission. The spacecraft released on a Falcon 9 May well 21 and docked with the station a lot less than 16 several hours afterwards.
“That was a phenomenal ride. We genuinely loved all of it,” said Peggy Whitson, the previous NASA astronaut and current director of human room flight at Axiom Space who commanded Ax-2, soon after splashdown. With Ax-2, Whitson extended her report for most time in area by an American astronaut to about 675 times.
Joining Whitson on Ax-2 were being John Shoffner, a private astronaut who served as pilot for the mission, and two mission specialist astronauts from Saudi Arabia, Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi. Those people two have been selected by the Saudi Space Commission in February for the mission under an arrangement the commission signed with Axiom Room in September 2022.
The Ax-2 crew had a compressed routine of functions on the station. The mission was initially scheduled to spend 10 days at the ISS but was shortened to 8 to continue to keep a cargo Dragon mission on agenda to launch June 3. The Ax-2 start experienced slipped from early May well for the reason that of delays in a Falcon Hefty launch that employed the identical Kennedy Space Center start pad as Ax-2.
The mission, which included classes realized from the Ax-1 private astronaut mission to the ISS in April 2022, appeared to go smoothly. The crew executed a set of science and know-how demonstration experiments when accomplishing instructional outreach activities, specially for Saudi learners.
“It’s been a very chaotic time up there,” reported Kirt Costello, NASA ISS chief scientist, throughout a Could 30 briefing about payloads flying on the up coming cargo Dragon mission. He reported the Ax-2 crew executed 27 experiments even though on the station, performing with other ISS astronauts. “We are waiting for all the success to come back again down,” including samples that were on the Crew Dragon spacecraft.
Ax-2 was the second of four personal astronaut missions Axiom House at present options to fly to the ISS as a prelude to putting in a sequence of industrial modules on the ISS. People modules will sooner or later individual from the ISS to kind the main of a standalone business station when the ISS is retired.
The upcoming mission, Ax-3, is planned for no before than late this yr, also on a Crew Dragon. Axiom Room has not disclosed the crew for that mission but, in the course of the joint Axiom/SpaceX webcast of the Crew Dragon spacecraft, the hosts revealed that Ax-2 will be commanded by Michael López-Alegría, the previous NASA astronaut who also commanded Ax-1 past yr.
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WASHINGTON — A SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico late May possibly 30, concluding Axiom Space’s next personal astronaut mission to the Worldwide House Station.
The Crew Dragon spacecraft Freedom securely splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico close to Panama Town, Florida, at 11:05 p.m. Jap. Restoration crews rapidly bought the spacecraft on a SpaceX vessel and served the four-particular person crew out.
The spacecraft undocked from the ISS 12 several hours earlier, concluding an eight-day remain at the station on the Ax-2 mission. The spacecraft released on a Falcon 9 May well 21 and docked with the station a lot less than 16 several hours afterwards.
“That was a phenomenal ride. We genuinely loved all of it,” said Peggy Whitson, the previous NASA astronaut and current director of human room flight at Axiom Space who commanded Ax-2, soon after splashdown. With Ax-2, Whitson extended her report for most time in area by an American astronaut to about 675 times.
Joining Whitson on Ax-2 were being John Shoffner, a private astronaut who served as pilot for the mission, and two mission specialist astronauts from Saudi Arabia, Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi. Those people two have been selected by the Saudi Space Commission in February for the mission under an arrangement the commission signed with Axiom Room in September 2022.
The Ax-2 crew had a compressed routine of functions on the station. The mission was initially scheduled to spend 10 days at the ISS but was shortened to 8 to continue to keep a cargo Dragon mission on agenda to launch June 3. The Ax-2 start experienced slipped from early May well for the reason that of delays in a Falcon Hefty launch that employed the identical Kennedy Space Center start pad as Ax-2.
The mission, which included classes realized from the Ax-1 private astronaut mission to the ISS in April 2022, appeared to go smoothly. The crew executed a set of science and know-how demonstration experiments when accomplishing instructional outreach activities, specially for Saudi learners.
“It’s been a very chaotic time up there,” reported Kirt Costello, NASA ISS chief scientist, throughout a Could 30 briefing about payloads flying on the up coming cargo Dragon mission. He reported the Ax-2 crew executed 27 experiments even though on the station, performing with other ISS astronauts. “We are waiting for all the success to come back again down,” including samples that were on the Crew Dragon spacecraft.
Ax-2 was the second of four personal astronaut missions Axiom House at present options to fly to the ISS as a prelude to putting in a sequence of industrial modules on the ISS. People modules will sooner or later individual from the ISS to kind the main of a standalone business station when the ISS is retired.
The upcoming mission, Ax-3, is planned for no before than late this yr, also on a Crew Dragon. Axiom Room has not disclosed the crew for that mission but, in the course of the joint Axiom/SpaceX webcast of the Crew Dragon spacecraft, the hosts revealed that Ax-2 will be commanded by Michael López-Alegría, the previous NASA astronaut who also commanded Ax-1 past yr.