SpaceX Marks Dragon's 10th Human Spaceflight With Axiom Ax-2 Launch

Elon Musk‘s SpaceX launched Axiom Space‘s Ax-2 mission to the International Space Station atop a Falcon 9 rocket on Sunday. With the four-member crew aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft named Freedom, the mission marks Dragon's 10th human spaceflight.

What Happened: The Ax-2 mission, sanctioned by NASA, is now scheduled to arrive at the International Space Station on May 22 and dock with the space station at approximately 9:16 a.m. ET. Freedom will dock on the ISS for ten days and the crew will conduct more than 20 research experiments in the meantime.

The mission's four-member crew is led by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson. The other members are pilot John Shoffner and mission specialists Ali AlQarni and Rayyanah Barnawi from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). 

“The 12-day trip marks an important historical event for Saudi Arabia, but also for women across the world, as Rayyanah Barnawi becomes the first ever female astronaut from Saudi Arabia to travel into space,” the Saudi Space Commission said in a statement.

Why It Matters: Ax-2 is the second private astronaut mission to the space station. It serves as a run-up to Axiom Space’s longer-term aim to have an Axiom Station ready to operate as the ISS' privately owned successor by 2028.

Meanwhile, for SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, the first private spacecraft to take humans to the space station, the mission marks its 10th human spaceflight. The spacecraft is capable of carrying up to 7 passengers to and from Earth orbit, and beyond, according to SpaceX.

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