A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched the Ax-2 mission from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The private astronaut crew includes Commander Peggy Whitson, Pilot John Shoffner, and Mission Specialists Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi from the Saudi Space Commission (SSC).
The Ax-1 private astronaut crew splashed down off the Florida coast in a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft at 1:06 p.m. ET, Monday, April 25th. This occasion marks the completion of the first all-private astronaut mission ever to the International Space Station (ISS). Axiom Mission 1 Commander Michael López-Alegría, Pilot Larry Connor, and Mission Specialists Eytan Stibbe and Mark Pathy worked aboard the ISS laboratory for 15 days.
Axiom Space’s Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1) successfully launched from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 11:17 am EDT this morning. Ax-1 is the world’s first all-private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS) and its four multi-national crew is now in orbit. The Dragon Endeavour capsule is anticipated to dock to the space-facing port of the ISS Harmony module around 7:45 am EDT on Saturday, April 9. Read more for the launch video and additional information.