Photo: Axiom Space
The first female commander on the International Space Station (ISS) and a champion GT racer will share the same spacecraft in a private mission to the Space Station, planned by Axiom Space.
Peggy Whitson was a NASA astronaut for 22 years and holds the record for spending the most time in space, 665 days to be more specific. She was also the first female commander on the Space Station and the first ISS Science Officer. Although she’s retired now, Whitson’s not ready to be grounded just yet so she’ll return to space as a private citizen and commander of the AX-2 mission. ISS’s first female commander is now 61 and retired from NASA in 2018.
The mission will also involve race car champion and pilot John Shoffner, along with two other crewmates whose identities are yet to be communicated. Shoffner is 65 and a trained pilot, researcher, and health and science enthusiast. He and his wife started J2-Racing, a GT3 motorsports racing team.
The four passengers will spend eight days on the International Space Station conducting scientific research. According to Axiom, Whitson and Shoffner have also been chosen as backups for the AX-1 mission. The AX-1 is the first fully private mission to the ISS on a SpaceX Crew Dragon and it’s scheduled for the beginning of 2022.
The launch date for the AX-2 mission hasn’t been confirmed yet, but Axiom stated that it plans to launch private missions every six months. That means the AX-2 mission should launch sometime in the middle of 2022, depending on the "traffic" at the ISS, which has a really busy schedule.
Axiom Space offers end-to-end missions to the International Space Station. The company is headquartered in Houston, Texas, and plans to build the world’s first commercial space station starting with 2024. Axiom has been involved with every ISS mission since the launch of the program.
The mission will also involve race car champion and pilot John Shoffner, along with two other crewmates whose identities are yet to be communicated. Shoffner is 65 and a trained pilot, researcher, and health and science enthusiast. He and his wife started J2-Racing, a GT3 motorsports racing team.
The four passengers will spend eight days on the International Space Station conducting scientific research. According to Axiom, Whitson and Shoffner have also been chosen as backups for the AX-1 mission. The AX-1 is the first fully private mission to the ISS on a SpaceX Crew Dragon and it’s scheduled for the beginning of 2022.
The launch date for the AX-2 mission hasn’t been confirmed yet, but Axiom stated that it plans to launch private missions every six months. That means the AX-2 mission should launch sometime in the middle of 2022, depending on the "traffic" at the ISS, which has a really busy schedule.
Axiom Space offers end-to-end missions to the International Space Station. The company is headquartered in Houston, Texas, and plans to build the world’s first commercial space station starting with 2024. Axiom has been involved with every ISS mission since the launch of the program.
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