Saudi astronauts & veteran NASA astronaut are launched by SpaceX to the International Space Station

Florida's BREVARD COUNTY – The second all-private crew of astronauts was launched on SpaceX's Axiom-2 mission from Kennedy Space Centre on Sunday night for a multimillion-dollar trip to the International Space Station.

The NASA-contracted mission for Houston-based business Axiom Space is scheduled to last 10 days.

At 9:30 a.m. EDT on Monday, the SpaceX Dragon “Freedom” capsule is scheduled to dock with the station and spend eight days there before departing for Earth.

Peggy Whitson, the director of human spaceflight for Axiom Space and a former NASA astronaut, is in charge of leading the four-person crew. She is joined by mission specialist Rayyanah Barnawi, the first two Saudi Arabian government-sponsored astronauts, Ali Alqarni, a private spaceflight participant, and mission pilot John Shoffner.

Although Shoffner and Saudi Arabia are expected to spend $55 million each for the anticipated 10-day expedition, Axiom Space has not disclosed how much they are paying. Whitson made a few remarks just prior to liftoff to acknowledge the thousands of people who work so hard to make crewed launches possible, in addition to the launch teams themselves.

“Thanks to your unshakable spirit to explore beyond our home planet and the limitless opportunity it affords, we stand on the precipice of a wonderful journey today. Thank you to the groups at Axiom Space, NASA, the international space partners, and SpaceX that make up our very large family,” Whitson remarked. And with that, let's get to work so we can create some history.

Members of the ticket-holding staff First spaceflight for a Saudi Arabian woman

Shoffner, a businessman, pilot, and STEM supporter who was born in Alaska and now resides in Knoxville, Tennessee, was the sole paying passenger on the journey. As a seasoned pilot with 25 years and more than 8,500 hours of flight time, he fills the pilot seat for the private mission.

Breast cancer researcher Barnawi is the first female astronaut from Saudi Arabia. Captain Alqarni has served in the Royal Saudi Air Force for 12 years as a jet pilot. The two are the first representatives of Saudi Arabia to visit the space station.

Since a Saudi royal launched aboard the space shuttle Discovery in 1985, Barnawi and Alqarni are the first people from their nation to ride a rocket.

Everyone's desire has come true, according to Barnawi before the flight. “Even just knowing that this is conceivable. They can do it too if Ali and I can do it.

Before returning for a splashdown landing in the Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico, all four crew members are anticipated to take part in science, communication, and educational outreach programs while on the station. The choice of the splashdown zone will ultimately depend on the weather.

The mission is the second private voyage to the space station by Axiom Space.

Axiom-2 is one of a number of privately funded trips that SpaceX has made with Axiom Space to the International Space Station.

Michael Suffredini, president and CEO of Axiom Space, stated last month that this mission was the second in a series of daring trips to the International Space Station. “These are really just steps for us and a process to get ready to build our space station.”

The company sent three businesspeople and another former NASA astronaut on its first expedition last year.

This autumn could see the launch of the third mission, Axiom-3, which was ordered by NASA. In addition, Axiom Space intends to construct its own autonomous space station in the upcoming years.

Late next year, the first station module from Axiom will take off and join the ISS. Then another module and eventually a power and cooling system will come after that. Before NASA retires the International Space Station in 2030, the multi-module Axiom Station is scheduled to disconnect and become a free-flying private space station.

When the International Space Station is retired, “we'll be able to work effectively with NASA and be able to work towards a seamless transition from the ISS to the Axiom Space Station,” Suffredini said.

The BADR-8 communications satellite, developed by Airbus for the telecommunications provider Arabsat, will be launched on the following SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Florida. With a planned launch from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Tuesday, that mission will aim for geostationary orbit. This will be Florida's 26th launch of the year.

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