A SpaceX rocket launched from Florida on Sunday afternoon carrying a celebrated former NASA astronaut and three paying customers.
A seven-day stay on board the International Space Station is about to begin for the crew.
SpaceX Second All-Private Journey to the International Space Station
The Houston-based company Axiom Space planned their journey, which is the second all-private one to the orbiting station.
The AX-2 mission, on which stem cell researcher Rayyanah Barnawi is the first Saudi Arabian woman to travel to space, is making history.
On Sunday afternoon, while thunderstorms were closely monitored by meteorological officials, the crew boarded the SpaceX rocket.
Florida is starting its summer wet season, making it slightly more difficult to obtain ideal circumstances for rocket launches.
The Crew Dragon capsule and its four passengers were eventually given the go-ahead to launch by weather experts, and SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket roared to life.
The crew is anticipated to spend the next 16 hours in Crew Dragon as it carefully maneuvers around Earth’s orbit while free-flying in order to line up with the International Space Station.
At 9:24 am, the spacecraft is expected to dock with the orbiting lab. Tuesday, ET.
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Expanding the Private Space Journey
Ali al’Qarni, a fighter pilot in the Royal Saudi Air Force, pilot John Shoffner, an American racecar driver, investor, and businessman, and stem cell researcher Rayyanah Barnawi, the first Saudi Arabian woman in space, were the other three crew members who paid an undisclosed fee to Axiom for their seats.
Ax-2 comes after Axiom’s 2022 Ax-1 mission, the company’s first privately funded launch to the ISS, which carried three paying clients and another former astronaut into orbit.
It’s also a significant achievement for SpaceX, which is quickly gaining ground as the industry leader in commercial space travel and needed a boost following the Starship disaster last month.
Although it’s unknown how much the study conducted on Ax-2 will contribute to the development of a new space station, it’s certain that more knowledge gained from the mission will be useful to NASA, SpaceX, and Axiom in the future.
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