CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA – The private space flight company, Axiom Space, is launching its second-ever all-private mission to the International Space Station (ISS), and it’s set to make history. Dubbed the Ax-2 mission, it will put the first woman from Saudi Arabia, Rayyanah Barnawi, in space and will mark the first time any Saudi Arabian astronaut has traveled to the ISS. The mission will also see Peggy Whitson, who was the first female NASA chief astronaut and the first female commander of the ISS, command the mission. Notably, she will also be the first woman to command a private spaceflight.
A total of four astronauts will depart today for the ISS from the Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida. This includes two members of the Saudi Arabian Space Agency, Ali AlQarni and Rayyanah Barnawi, and the Ax-2 mission pilot, John Shoffner.
The Ax-2 mission will last just over 10 days and will conduct more than 20 scientific experiments. This will include STEM educational payloads and 20 additional investigations, including those that will test how microgravity affects stem cell growth. A prototype medical diagnostics system, which will participate in several experiments, including COVID-19 research, will also be onboard.
The Falcon 9 rocket is set to launch at 5:37 p.m. EDT on May 21, 2021, with the launch being shown on live webcasts from NASA, SpaceX, and Axiom. The launch, however, has a 20% chance of delay due to poor weather conditions.
Once the mission is completed, the crew will travel back to Earth for a splashdown landing site that will be determined by weather conditions. The first-stage booster of the Falcon 9 rocket will land back at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Landing Zone 1.
Axiom-2 mission is the second all-private crewed mission to the ISS for Houston-based Axiom Space, with the company planning additional missions in 2022 and beyond. The Ax-2 mission is significant because it will be marking women’s first-time representation both in space and as private flight commanding pilots.
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