Names | Ax-2 |
---|---|
Mission type | Private spaceflight to ISS |
Operator | Axiom Space |
COSPAR ID | 2023-070A |
SATCAT no. | 56739![]() |
Website | www |
Mission duration | 9 days, 5 hours and 27 minutes |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft type | Crew Dragon Freedom |
Manufacturer | SpaceX |
Crew | |
Crew size | 4 |
Members | |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 21 May 2023, 21:37 UTC[1] |
Rocket | Falcon 9 Block 5 B1080.1 |
Launch site | Kennedy Space Center, LC-39A |
Contractor | SpaceX |
End of mission | |
Recovered by | Megan (ship) |
Landing date | 31 May 2023, 03:04 UTC |
Landing site | Gulf of Mexico |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
Regime | Low Earth orbit |
Inclination | 51.66° |
Docking with ISS | |
Docking port | Harmony zenith |
Docking date | 22 May 2023, 13:12 UTC |
Undocking date | 30 May 2023, 15:05 UTC |
Time docked | 8 days, 1 hour and 53 minutes[2] |
Axiom Mission 2 patch (L-R) Whitson, Shoffner, AlQarni and Barnawi |
Axiom Mission 2 (or Ax-2) was a private crewed mission to the International Space Station (ISS), operated by Axiom Space. Ax-2 was launched on 21 May 2023 on a SpaceX Falcon 9, and successfully docked on 22 May.[3][2]
Ax-2 is the second Axiom mission after Axiom Mission 1 in April 2022 and the third private crewed SpaceX Dragon mission.
The crew includes former NASA Astronaut Peggy Whitson as mission commander and John Shoffner as pilot.[4][5] The two Mission Specialists are Ali AlQarni and Rayyanah Barnawi of the Saudi Space Commission.[6]
On 22 September 2022, Axiom Space announced it had partnered with the Saudi Space Commission to send two Saudi astronauts on Ax-2 to research cancer, cloud seeding, and microgravity in space.[7] This mission included the first female Saudi astronaut to space.[8]
On January 11, 2022, Axiom announced Italian Air Force (ItAF) Colonel Walter Villadei as the company’s first international professional astronaut.[9] Col. Villadei was selected by Axiom as a backup crew member for Ax-2.[10]
Position | Astronaut | |
---|---|---|
Spacecraft commander | ![]() Fourth spaceflight | |
Pilot | ![]() First spaceflight | |
Mission Specialist 1 | ![]() First spaceflight | |
Mission Specialist 2 | ![]() First spaceflight |
Position | Astronaut | |
---|---|---|
Spacecraft commander | ![]() ![]() | |
Pilot | ![]() | |
Mission Specialist 1 | ![]() | |
Mission Specialist 2 | ![]() |