Following a 10-day stint aboard the In ternational Area Station, the four-member Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) crew will board a SpaceX Dragon craft and start their journey dwelling to Earth.
At present’s joint Axiom Area and SpaceX operation begins with hatch closure preparations and ends when the astronauts splash down off the coast of Florida.
Peggy Whitson, John Shoffner, Ali Alqarni, and Rayyanah Barnawi final week joined Expedition 69 members on the ISS for 10 days of scientific analysis, outreach, and industrial actions. It is the primary personal house mission to be commanded by a lady and to incorporate personal astronauts and people representing overseas governments (Barnawi and Alqarni are members of the inaugural Saudi nationwide astronaut program).
Axiom’s Director of Human Spaceflight and a former NASA astronaut, Whitson beforehand served as NASA’s chief astronaut and the primary feminine commander of the ISS. This journey additionally counts towards her document for the longest cumulative time in house by a NASA astronaut.
The way to Watch:
- 9 a.m. ET: NASA protection begins for 9:10 a.m. hatch closure
- 10:45 a.m. ET: NASA protection resumes for 11:05 a.m. undocking
Instances are topic to vary based mostly on operations. NASA will stop streaming about half-hour after undocking—when joint operations with the Axiom Area and SpaceX mission groups finish. Axiom is then set to renew protection of the Dragon’s re-entry and splashdown by way of its web site.
“The Ax-2 mission represents each a fruits of NASA’s efforts to foster a industrial market in low-Earth orbit and the start of a brand new period of house exploration that allows extra folks to fly on extra sorts of missions,” in keeping with NASA.
“This partnership is altering the arc of human spaceflight historical past by opening entry to low-Earth orbit and the Worldwide Area Station to extra folks, extra science, and extra industrial alternatives,” NASA mentioned.
