Axiom Space’s Ax-2 crew docked to the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday, May 22, following a nearly 15-hour journey.
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft rendezvoused with the ISS Harmony module at 9:12 a.m. EDT while traveling over Northeast Japan.
The Ax-2 crew is the second all-private astronaut crew to travel to the ISS. The four-person, multinational crew lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 5:37 p.m. EDT on Sunday, May 21.
Following pressurization and leak checks between the Dragon and space station hatches, the Ax-2 crew will join the ISS Expedition 69 crew already aboard the station.
The crew is expected to stay aboard the space station for eight days as they complete a full itinerary of scientific research and outreach efforts.
The four-person Axiom Space crew flew to space in SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft atop its Falcon 9 rocket to participate in the mission, including working and living on the orbiting laboratory to implement a full manifest of science, outreach, and commercial activities.
Axiom Space’s Director of Human Spaceflight Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut and ISS commander, leads the mission. Aviator John Shoffner of Knoxville, Tennessee, serves as pilot. The two mission specialists are Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).
Axiom Space’s Ax-2 mission continues progress toward the Axiom Station and a sustainable low-Earth orbit economy as humans venture farther for longer duration in space.
