2023 private crewed spaceflight to the ISS
Axiom Mission 2 (or Ax-2) was a private crewed spaceflight operated by Axiom Space. Ax-2 was launched on 21 May 2023 on a SpaceX Falcon 9, successfully docking with the International Space Station (ISS) on 22 May.
After eight days docked to the ISS, the Dragon crew capsule "Freedom" undocked and returned to Earth twelve hours later.
Ax-2 was the second Axiom mission after Axiom Mission 1 in April 2022 and the third private crewed SpaceX Dragon mission.
Crew.
The crew was commanded by Axiom employee Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut. John Shoffner, a space tourist, served as the pilot. The Saudi Space Agency purchased the other two seats on the flight and named astronauts Ali AlQarni and Rayyanah Barnawi to be the Mission Specialists.
Axiom had initially announced in April 2021 that one crew member for the second Axiom spaceflight to the ISS would be selected via "Who Wants to Be an Astronaut?", a reality television series to be produced by Discovery Channel.
On 11 January 2022, Axiom announced Italian Air Force Colonel Walter Villadei as the company's first international professional astronaut. Col. Villadei was subsequently announced by Axiom as a backup crew member for Ax-2. He would later go on to serve as the pilot on Ax-3.
On 22 September 2022, Axiom Space announced it would partner with the Saudi Space Agency to send two Saudi astronauts on Ax-2 to research cancer, cloud seeding, and microgravity in space. This mission included the first female Saudi astronaut to go to space.
Mission.
Axiom 2 lifted off on 21 May 2023 from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center, onboard a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket. For the first time on a crew mission, the first stage of Falcon 9 landed on land at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Landing Zone 1 instead of the more common at-sea recovery typical of crew flights. The mission, which was the second flight of Crew Dragon "Freedom", docked with the International Space Station a day later.
During the mission, the crew performed public outreach activities along with scientific research, including studies into the effects of microgravity on stem cells and other biological experiments.
After eight days docked to the ISS, Axiom 2 undocked and returned to Earth twelve hours later. "Freedom" splashed down successfully in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Panama City, Florida. It was recovered by SpaceX's recovery ship "Megan".
References.
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