Crew Dragon – Space Station

Ax-2 Astronauts Undock from Station Inside Dragon Freedom

May 30, 2023: International Space Station Configuration. Four spaceships are docked at the space station including the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour crew ship and Roscosmos' Soyuz MS-23 crew ship and Progress 83 and 84 resupply ships. — May 30, 2023: International Space Station Configuration. Four spaceships are docked at the space station including the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour crew ship and Roscosmos’ Soyuz MS-23 crew ship and Progress 83 and 84 resupply ships.

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft undocked from the space-facing port of the International Space Station’s Harmony module at 11:05 a.m. EDT to complete the second all-private astronaut mission to the orbiting laboratory, Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2).

Dragon is slowly maneuvering away from the orbital laboratory into an orbital track that will return the astronaut crew and its cargo safely to Earth, targeting a splashdown off the coast of Panama City, Florida, targeted about 11:04 p.m. EDT Tuesday, May 30.

Ax-2 Commander Peggy Whitson, John Shoffner, Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi will complete 9 days in space at the conclusion of their mission. The SpaceX Dragon will return to Earth with more than 300 pounds of science and supplies, including NASA experiments and hardware.

Joint operations with the Axiom and SpaceX mission teams end and NASA coverage of the mission concludes when the spacecraft exits the area of the space station, approximately 30 minutes after undocking.

Axiom Space leads independent mission operations for Ax-2 and will resume coverage of Dragon’s re-entry and splashdown.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Ax-2 Astronauts Enter Dragon Freedom, Close Hatch

Ax-2 Commander Peggy Whitson (foreground) and Pilot John Shoffner (background) are suited up and seated inside the SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft preparing to undock from the space station. Credit: NASA TV

At 9:20 a.m. EDT, the hatch closed between the Dragon spacecraft and the  International Space Station in preparation for undocking and return to Earth of the Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) with astronauts Peggy Whitson, John Shoffner, Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi.

NASA Television will air  live coverage  resuming at 10:45 a.m. in advance of the planned departure of Dragon with undocking about 11:05 a.m. and will continue until about 30 minutes after undocking when joint operations with the Axiom and SpaceX mission teams ends.

Today’s undocking will begin the Ax-2 mission’s journey home with splashdown off the coast of Tampa, Florida, no earlier than approximately 11 p.m. EDT Tuesday, May 30.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Ax-2 Astronauts Ending Station Mission Live on NASA TV

The Axiom Mission-2 (Ax-2) and Expedition 69 crew members join each other for a Crew Farewell Ceremony on May 29, 2023. In the front row (from left) are, Ax-2 crew mates Peggy Whitson, Ali Alqarni, John Shoffner, and Rayyanah Barnawi. In the back (from left) are, Expedition 69 crew mates Frank Rubio, Andrey Fedyaev, Sultan Alneyadi, Dmitri Petelin, Sergey Prokopyev, Woody Hoburg, and Stephen Bowen. — The Axiom Mission-2 (Ax-2) and Expedition 69 crew members join each other for a Crew Farewell Ceremony on May 29, 2023. In the front row (from left) are, Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Frank Rubio with Ax-2 crew mates Peggy Whitson, Ali Alqarni, John Shoffner, and Rayyanah Barnawi. In the back (from left) are, Expedition 69 crew mates Andrey Fedyaev, Sultan Alneyadi, Dmitri Petelin, Sergey Prokopyev, Woody Hoburg, and Stephen Bowen.

NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website are providing live coverage from the International Space Station for the closure of the hatches between the station and the Dragon spacecraft to prepare for undocking and departure of the second private astronaut mission to the station, Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2).

Hatch closure is expected at about 9:10 a.m. EDT. The four-member private astronaut crew is scheduled to undock at 11:05 a.m. Tuesday, May 30, to begin the journey home with splashdown off the coast of Florida.

NASA coverage will break following hatch closure and resume at 10:45 a.m. in advance of the planned undocking and will continue until about 30 minutes after undocking when joint operations with the Axiom and SpaceX mission teams ends.

Ax-2 crew members Peggy Whitson, John Shoffner, Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi will complete 10 days in space at the conclusion of their mission. SpaceX Dragon will return to Earth with more than 300 pounds of cargo, including NASA hardware and data from over 20 different experiments.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Station Welcomes Axiom Astronauts and Preps for Next Cargo Mission

The SpaceX Freedom Dragon crew ship with four Axiom Mission-2 private astronauts aboard is pictured approaching the International Space Station.

11 crew members are living aboard the International Space Station with four spaceships now docked to the orbiting lab. A fifth spaceship is due to launch Wednesday and arrive a few hours later with cargo to replenish the Expedition 69 crew.

Two SpaceX Dragon crew ships are docked adjacent to each other on the station’s Harmony module after the arrival of Axiom Mission-2 (Ax-2) aboard Dragon Freedom on Monday at 9:12 a.m. EDT. The four private astronauts from Axiom Space opened Freedom’s hatch at 11 a.m. and entered the station beginning eight days of docked operations.

The private quartet consisting of Commander Peggy Whitson, Pilot John Shoffner, and Mission Specialists Al Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi spent Tuesday getting familiar with station operations. They practiced preparing food and drinks, conducting hygiene practices, performing safety procedures, and operating lab equipment while getting used to living in space.

At the end of the day, the foursome joined the seven-member Expedition 69 crew and reviewed roles and responsibilities in the unlikely event of an emergency. The international crew of 11 located safety gear such as fire extinguishers and portable breathing gear, followed escape routes, and coordinated communications with mission controllers in response to fire, ammonia leak, or pressure leak events.

In the middle of the new crew adaptation activities, there was still time for ongoing space science and lab maintenance activities. NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio serviced a variety of components and swapped samples inside a research furnace and a fluorescence microscope. NASA Flight Engineer Woody Hoburg configured gear supporting a pharmaceutical study, while UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi set up the Stellar Stem Cells experiment, an Ax-2 investigation, that will explore regenerative medicine therapies.

NASA Flight Engineer Stephen Bowen spent his day with the Ax-2 crew and joined Commander Whitson transferring emergency gear and configuring safety hardware between Dragon Freedom and the space station. Bowen and former NASA astronaut Whitson are both Dragon crew ship commanders with Bowen leading the SpaceX Crew-6 mission aboard the Dragon Endeavour spacecraft.

The next mission to launch to the orbital outpost is an uncrewed cargo mission from Roscosmos counting down to its liftoff at 8:56 a.m. EDT on Wednesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The ISS Progress 84 (84P) cargo craft will dock to the Poisk module just under three-and-a-half hours later at 12:20 p.m. delivering about three tons of food, fuel, and supplies to the orbital residents. Expedition 69 Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin will be on duty monitoring 84P’s arrival then open its hatch several hours later to begin offloading the new cargo.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Four Axiom Mission-2 Private Astronauts Enter Station

The four Axiom Mission-2 crew members join the seven-member Expedition 69 crew aboard the station and gather together for a crew greeting ceremony. Credit: NASA TV

Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) astronauts Peggy Whitson, John Shoffner, Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi now are aboard the International Space Station following Dragon’s hatch opening at 11 a.m. EDT Monday, May 22.

Ax-2 docked to the orbital complex at 9:12 a.m. on the second mission with an entirely private crew to arrive at the orbiting laboratory.

The Axiom Space crew are joining Expedition 69 crew members aboard station, including NASA astronauts Frank Rubio, Woody Hoburg, and Stephen Bowen, UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Dmitri Petelin, Andrey Fedyaev, and Sergey Prokopyev.

Next up, the station crew members will take part in a welcome ceremony aboard the International Space Station.

Axiom Space astronauts are expected to depart the space station May 30, pending weather, for a return to Earth and splashdown at a landing site off the coast of Florida

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Four Axiom Mission-2 Astronauts Dock to Station

Four spaceships are docked at the space station including the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour and Freedom crew ships and Roscosmos' Soyuz MS-23 crew ship and Progress 83 resupply ship. — Four spaceships are docked at the space station including the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour and Freedom crew ships and Roscosmos’ Soyuz MS-23 crew ship and Progress 83 resupply ship.

Axiom Mission 2 astronauts Peggy Whitson, John Shoffner, Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi arrived at the International Space Station at 9:12 a.m. EDT Monday, May 22, on the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. Live coverage continues on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website for hatch opening and the welcome ceremony.

Live coverage continue on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website for hatch opening and the welcome ceremony.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Axiom Mission-2 Approaching Station Live on NASA TV

From left, Mission Specialist Rayyanah Barnawi, Pilot John Shoffner, Commander Peggy Whitson, and Mission Specialist Ali Alqarni are pictured inside the SpaceX Dragon Freedom crew ship. Credit: SpaceX

NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website are providing live coverage for the arrival of the Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) to the International Space Station. Ax-2 astronauts Peggy Whitson, John Shoffner, Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi are scheduled to dock at approximately 9:10 a.m. Monday, May 22, to the space-facing port of the station’s Harmony module.

The NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX teams now are conducting integrated operations, which begins during the spacecraft’s approach to the International Space Station. NASA maintains mission responsibility during integrated operations, which continues during the crew’s stay aboard the orbiting laboratory conducting science, education, and commercial activities, and concludes once Dragon exits the area of the space station.

When the Axiom Space Mission 2 arrives to the International Space Station, it will be the second mission with an entirely private crew to visit the orbiting laboratory.

The welcome ceremony is expected to start about 11:45 a.m. after the Dragon’s hatch opens at about 11:13 a.m. Live mission coverage will end with the conclusion of the ceremony.

The second all private astronaut mission lifted off at 5:37 p.m. EDT Sunday, May 21, on a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Four Private Astronauts Launch Toward Space Station

The SpaceX Dragon crew ship launches four Axiom Mission-2 astronauts to the space station from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on May 21, 2023. Credit: SpaceX — The SpaceX Dragon crew ship launches four Axiom Mission-2 astronauts to the space station from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on May 21, 2023. Credit: SpaceX

Four private astronauts are in orbit following the successful launch of Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2), the second all private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. Axiom Space astronauts lifted off at 5:37 p.m. EDT on Sunday, May 21, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket propelled the company’s Dragon spacecraft carrying Ax-2 crew members Commander Peggy Whitson, Pilot John Shoffner, and Mission Specialists Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi into orbit on a mission to conduct scientific research, outreach, and commercial activities on the space station.

“Congratulations to Axiom, SpaceX, and the Axiom Mission 2 crew on a successful launch! During their time aboard the International Space Station, the Ax-2 astronauts will carry out more than 20 scientific experiments, helping us better understand space radiation, weather in low-gravity conditions, and more,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “This mission is more proof of NASA’s commitment to help our industry partners develop the next generation of space technology and a support a growing commercial space economy.”

Beginning at 7:30 a.m. Monday, May 22, NASA will provide live coverage of SpaceX Dragon docking, hatch opening, and a ceremony to welcome the crew on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.

The SpaceX Dragon will autonomously dock to the space-facing port of the station’s Harmony module around 9:16 a.m. Monday with hatch opening about 11:13 a.m. Live mission coverage will conclude following the welcome ceremony expected to start about 11:45 a.m. The mission also will be covered by Axiom Space on its website.

Once aboard the station, the Ax-2 crew will be welcomed by Expedition 69 crew members, including NASA astronauts Frank Rubio, Stephen Bowen, and Woody Hoburg, UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Dmitri Petelin, Sergey Prokopyev and Andrey Fedyaev.

Axiom Space astronauts are expected to depart the space station May 30, pending weather, for a return to Earth and splashdown at a landing site off the coast of Florida.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Second Axiom Private Astronaut Mission Launching Live on NASA TV

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon crew ship atop blasts off on April 9, 2022, carrying the first private astronauts to the space station during Axiom Mission-1. Credit: SpaceX

NASA TV coverage is underway for the launch of Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) – the second all private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. Launch is targeting liftoff at 5:37 p.m. EDT from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The live launch broadcast is carried on NASA TV, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. The broadcast will end after orbital insertion approximately 15 minutes after launch.

SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft will carry Commander Peggy Whitson, Pilot John Shoffner, and Mission Specialists Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi to the orbital complex. The Ax-2 crew will dock about 9:16 a.m. Monday, May 22, to the space-facing port of the station’s Harmony module.

At 7 p.m., the agency’s website will air the Ax-2 Postlaunch Media Briefing (targeted about one hour following launch) with leadership from NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX providing an update on the launch and mission operations.

Participants include:

Joel Montalbano, manager, NASA’s International Space Station Program
Matt Ondler, chief technology officer, Axiom Space
Benji Reed, senior director, Human Spaceflight Programs, SpaceX

NASA’s mission responsibility is for integrated operations, which begins during the spacecraft’s approach to the International Space Station, continues during the crew’s stay aboard the orbiting laboratory conducting science, education, and commercial activities, and concludes once Dragon exits the area of the space station.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Station Preps for Axiom Mission 2 Nearing Sunday Launch

The SpaceX Dragon Endeavour carrying four Axiom Mission 1 astronauts approaches the International Space Station on April 9, 2022, with the first quarter Moon in the background.

The Expedition 69 crew members continue preparing the International Space Station for the arrival four private astronauts early next week. Meanwhile, the orbital residents also stayed focused on their life science activities and lab maintenance tasks.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with the Dragon Freedom crew ship attached, rolled out to its launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday morning. It is scheduled to launch four Axiom Mission-2 (Ax-2) astronauts at 5:37 p.m. EDT on Sunday to the orbital outpost. Former NASA astronaut and Ax-2 Commander Peggy Whitson will lead first-time space flyers Pilot John Shoffner and Mission Specialists Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi aboard Dragon during its space flight. Dragon will automatically approach and dock to the space-facing port on the Harmony module at 9:24 a.m. on Monday.

Two station flight engineers spent a portion of Thursday configuring station equipment to support the four Ax-2 crew members during their stay aboard orbital lab. NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen gathered and staged emergency hardware on midday Thursday to accommodate the additional astronauts and their Dragon vehicle. UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi relocated a station computer from the Kibo laboratory module to the Harmony module for Ax-2 crew use.

Bowen would go on and work the rest of the day inside the Destiny laboratory module servicing life support gear that cools station hardware and rejects heat using water loops. Alneyadi charged batteries, removed components, and practiced installing jetpacks on the Extravehicular Mobility Units, or spacesuits, in preparation for upcoming spacewalks.

NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio worked inside the Kibo lab installing protein crystal research hardware and a centrifuge supporting life science and physics research. NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg wrapped up the checkout and activation of the Treadmill 2 in the Tranquility module following its inspection and cleaning earlier in the week.

Commander Sergey Prokopyev joined Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin after breakfast for ultrasound scans of their stomachs to understand microgravity’s effect on the digestion process. Roscosmos Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev attached sensors to himself recording his heart activity while pedaling on an exercise cycle for a fitness evaluation. Fedyaev that partnered with Prokopyev at the end of the day transferring cargo from the ISS Progress 83 resupply ship docked to the Zvezda service module’s aft port.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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