The Ax-2 flight is the second private astronaut mission, or PAM, to the International Space Station chartered by Axiom. And that means for us, as the Arab world, we are holding hands, we are working together for the betterment of humanity.' '(That) will hold a big message that we can be sending out to inspire people.

'I think it is a great opportunity that the three of us can be aboard the International Space Station,' Alqarni said. With the arrival of Alqarni and Barnawi, three of the station's 11 crew members will represent the Middle East. The Falcon 9's reusable first stage drops back to Earth for landing at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to wrap up its maiden flight.Īlneyadi, the second UAE flier to reach space, is the first Arab astronaut to serve as a long-duration crew member aboard the ISS. They'll be welcomed aboard by Expedition 69 commander Sergey Prokopyev and his two Soyuz MS-23 crewmates, Dmitri Petelin and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, along with NASA Crew 6 fliers Steve Bowen, Woody Hoburg, cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev and United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi. If all goes well, the crew will monitor an automated rendezvous with the space station, catching up with the lab complex Monday morning and moving in for docking at the forward Harmony module's space-facing port at 9:16 a.m. 'It's good to be here,' Whitson replied from orbit. 'Thanks for putting your trust in the Falcon 9 team, hope you enjoyed the ride to space,' radioed SpaceX chief engineer Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA's former director of spaceflight operations. One minute later, the Crew Dragon capsule slipped into orbit and separated from the Falcon 9 second stage.

Heralded by twin sonic booms, the Ax-2 first stage dropped out of the clouds and settled to a picture perfect touchdown eight minutes after liftoff. But past experience showed actual performance was better than expected, leaving enough propellant on board to reverse course and return to the launch site. In past Crew Dragon flights, booster stages landed on offshore barges and were towed back to shore for refurbishment and reuse. Monitoring the automated ascent from their seats in the Crew Dragon 'Freedom' capsule were commander Peggy Whitson and co-pilot John Shoffner, flanked on the left and right by first-time Saudi fliers Ali Alqarni, a veteran F-16 fighter pilot, and biomedical researcher Rayyanah Barnawi.Īfter boosting the rocket out of the thick lower atmosphere, the reusable first stage, making its maiden flight, fell away and headed for landing back at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station while the Falcon 9's second stage continued the push to orbit. It is the second 'private astronaut mission' chartered by Houston-based Axiom Space. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket thunders away from the Kennedy Space Center carrying four private astronauts to the International Space Station for an eight-day research mission. EDT, quickly throttled up to 1.7 million pounds of thrust and smoothly pushed the rocket away from historic pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.Īrcing away on a northeasterly trajectory, the slender rocket put on a spectacular weekend sky show, thrilling thousands of area residents and tourists lining nearby roads and beaches before disappearing into a high deck of clouds. The nine Merlin engines powering the Falcon 9's first stage roared to life at 5:37 p.m. SpaceX launches Ax-2, second-ever private space mission to International Space Station 03:22Ī legendary astronaut, two Saudis and a wealthy adventurer blasted off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Sunday for a trip to the International Space Station, the second ' private astronaut mission' aimed at opening the high frontier to commercial development.

Axiom space crew