The private company Axiom Space and the POT are ready for the launch this Sunday of the manned mission Ax-2, which will take off from Cape Canaveral, Florida (USA), bound for the International Space Station (ISS) and aboard a Dragon capsule that will be propelled by a Falcon 9 rocket, both from the SpaceX company.
“All systems and weather looking good for today’s launch,” SpaceX posted on Twitter about liftoff, scheduled for 5:37 p.m. local time (21:37 GMT) from the Kennedy Space Center.
If they manage to take off, the Dragon capsule and its four crew members will dock at the orbital laboratory at around 9:30 am on Monday (1:30 pm GMT) and shortly after they will be received by the members of Expedition 69 on the ISS.
In case today’s launch is frustrated, those responsible for the mission would try again on Monday at 5:14 p.m. (21:14 GMT).
This is the second “totally private” Axiom Space mission to the ISS, in this case lasting ten days and which will carry out at least 20 scientific experiments and technological investigations on board the orbital laboratory.
The crew is commanded by former astronaut Peggy Whitson, who will thus become the first female commander of a private space mission, while American businessman and aviator John Shoffner, a private client who has more than 8,500 flight hours, will operate as a pilot.
The two mission specialists are Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi, who, in addition to being inaugural members of the Saudi space program, will follow in the footsteps of Prince Sultan bin Salman Al Saud, the first Saudi national to fly into space when he was part of a mission in 1985. aboard a NASA shuttle.
As specialized media highlight, Barnawi will also be the first Arab woman to reach low Earth orbit, which is where the space station moves.
Axiom Space’s first private mission, Ax-1, was launched on April 8, 2022 with four crew members who spent 17 days on the space station conducting science outreach and educational tasks.
It was commanded by the Spanish-American and former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría, who is also a director of Axiom Space, and flew aboard the Space X spacecraft Dragon Endeavor, which on its return fell with the crew on board in front of off the coast of Florida on April 25, 2022.
The Ax-2 represents a step forward for the company towards the goal they have of building a commercial space station in low Earth orbit, and thus taking advantage of “the benefits of microgravity to improve life on Earth”, according to they point out in a statement.
Source: EFE
Source: Gestion
Ricardo is a renowned author and journalist, known for his exceptional writing on top-news stories. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he is known for his ability to deliver breaking news and insightful analysis on the most pressing issues of the day.
