Axiom Space, a commercial space company based in Houston, Texas, will send four more people to the International Space Station, including a retired NASA astronaut.
axiom space‘s second crewed mission into space, named Ax-2, will launch from Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, where spacex launches its astronaut missions for NASA. The four crew members will ascend to the International Space Station (ISS) in a SpaceX crew dragon spacecraft atop one of the company’s Falcon 9 rockets. The launch is currently scheduled for Sunday (May 21) at 17:37 EDT (21:37 GMT) and you can watch it live here on Space.com, via NASA and SpaceX.
Axiom’s first manned mission into space, called hatchet-1, launched on April 8, 2022 and lasted more than 15 days in space. Ax-2 has a shorter duration; the four crew members will spend eight days aboard the orbiting laboratory.
Here you can meet the four people who will make up the crew of Axiom Space’s Ax-2 mission.
Live updates: Axiom Space Ax-2 Private Space Flight with SpaceX: Live Updates
Photos: The first space tourists
Peggy Whitson, Commander
(opens in a new tab)
peggy whitson, serving as the commander of Ax-2, has spent 665 days in space, more than any other American astronaut or female astronaut. She flew three missions to the International Space Station (Expeditions 5, 16, 50/51/52), setting two records for women in space along the way: performing 10 spacewalks; and commanding the orbital complex twice.
Whitson has also held numerous high-level positions at NASA, including chairman of the NASA astronaut selection board, chief of NASA’s operations branch and deputy division chief of medical sciences, according to his biography (opens in a new tab). She also served as co-chair of the US-Russia missionary science task force.
Whitson has a PhD. and has degrees in biology, chemistry and biochemistry. Born on a farm in Iowa, she decided to become an astronaut in 1969 after seeing the Apollo 11 moon landing in TV. In Ax-2, she will rack up another milestone as the first woman to command a private space mission.
John Shoffner, pilot
(opens in a new tab)
John Shoffner, Ax-2 pilot, is an aviator with more than 8,500 flight hours in various commercial aircraft and helicopters.
Shoffner was the founder of the Dura-Line Corporation, which laid fiber optic cable during the 1980s, during the early days of Internet networks. He left in 1997 for other interests and founded J2-Racing (an endurance motorsport racing team) in 2012 together with his wife and fellow skydiver, Janine.
His athletic pursuits include “bicycling, whitewater kayaking, water skiing, hang gliding, skydiving, base jumping, and motor sports.” official biographical statements (opens in a new tab). He first became interested in space at age 8, starting a youth astronaut club in Middlesboro, Kentucky during the Gemini and the ages of Apollo. He will communicate with amateur radio enthusiasts with radio amateurs, which he started doing in his teens.
Ali Alqarni, mission specialist
(opens in a new tab)
Ali Alqarni, Ax-2 mission specialist, is an astronaut from Saudi Arabia. He is a fighter pilot with nearly 2,400 flight hours of experience in types including the Cessna 172, T-6, T-38F-15S and F-15SA of the Royal Saudi Air Force, his biography says (opens in a new tab).
Alquarni first became interested in space during a visit to NASA Johnson Space Center, while training with the US Air Force. His mission will be the second overall for Saudi Arabia and the first from his country to visit the ISS. She has a bachelor’s degree in aerospace science and enjoys bungee jumping, mountain hiking, vintage car restoration, and family time.
Rayyanah Barnawi, Ax-2 mission specialist
(opens in a new tab)
Rayyanah Barnawi, Ax-2 mission specialist, is the first female astronaut from Saudi Arabia.
Barnawi has several degrees in biomedical sciences, according to his biography (opens in a new tab). She has worked for nearly a decade as a stem cell research and tissue reengineering laboratory technician at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh. Her work at Ax-2 will focus on stem cell and breast cancer research. Her hobbies include scuba diving, hang gliding, ledge swinging, river rafting, and hiking, and she has also done wingsuit flight training.