Created 24-May-23
Modified 24-May-23
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excerpts from floridatoday.com:
SpaceX's Axiom-2 mission took off from Kennedy Space Center Sunday evening, carrying the second all-private crew of astronauts to the International Space Station in record fashion.
The SpaceX Dragon capsule, named "Freedom," launched from pad 39A at 5:37 p.m. EDT and docked with the space station less than 16 hours later at 9:12 a.m. EDT Monday, May 22. It marked the quickest time between launch and docking for a Crew Dragon capsule.
The Axiom-2 mission also marks SpaceX's 10th human spaceflight mission since beginning services in 2020. The company's first crewed mission, Demo-2, returned human spaceflight capabilities to the U.S. after nearly a decade-long hiatus caused by NASA's retirement of the space shuttle in 2011.
The crew of four is commanded by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, Axiom Space's director of human spaceflight. She is joined by private spaceflight participant and mission pilot John Shoffner and the first two Saudi Arabian government-sponsored astronauts, mission specialists Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi.
Following stage separation, the Falcon 9 booster landed at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Landing Zone 1.
SpaceX's Axiom-2 mission took off from Kennedy Space Center Sunday evening, carrying the second all-private crew of astronauts to the International Space Station in record fashion.
The SpaceX Dragon capsule, named "Freedom," launched from pad 39A at 5:37 p.m. EDT and docked with the space station less than 16 hours later at 9:12 a.m. EDT Monday, May 22. It marked the quickest time between launch and docking for a Crew Dragon capsule.
The Axiom-2 mission also marks SpaceX's 10th human spaceflight mission since beginning services in 2020. The company's first crewed mission, Demo-2, returned human spaceflight capabilities to the U.S. after nearly a decade-long hiatus caused by NASA's retirement of the space shuttle in 2011.
The crew of four is commanded by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, Axiom Space's director of human spaceflight. She is joined by private spaceflight participant and mission pilot John Shoffner and the first two Saudi Arabian government-sponsored astronauts, mission specialists Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi.
Following stage separation, the Falcon 9 booster landed at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Landing Zone 1.
© Dennis Huff
