Axiom-2 liftoffs with first Saudi woman astronaut

Sunday afternoon, the second private mission by Axiom to the International Space Station lifted off from LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center. This marked the first spaceflight of a Saudi female astronaut, the return to space of commander Peggy Whitson, and the start of RTLS landings for crewed Falcon 9 flights.

First Saudi female astronaut takes flight

Axiom-2’s crew consisted of four members from two different countries. Of course, former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson is commanding the mission, with the other US member being Dragon’s pilot, John Shoffner. The other two crew members were professional astronauts from Saudi Arabia, which is not an ISS member country, nor does it have its own means of sending a crew into space. This is Axiom and SpaceX’s unique opportunity in the current commercial market.

Rayyanah Barnawi, a biomedical engineer, is officially now the first female Saudi to reach space. A milestone moment for the Kingdom with Barnawi becoming an icon for other women to look up to back home, like Sally Ride did when she flew into space on a Space Shuttle in 1983.

Barnawi will be busy during her eight-day stay on the ISS conducting research she already has over ten years of experience doing here on Earth, but this time in zero gravity. Her research will focus on stem cells and breast cancer, areas that have already been seen to be much easier to study while in space.

She’s joined by Saudi fighter pilot and astronaut Ali Alqarni, who is also experiencing his first journey into space. Alqarni is the second male astronaut from Saudi Arabia to fly to space, but alongside Barnawi, they will be the first to stay on the ISS.

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Looking ahead at Axiom-2’s week in space

Axiom-2 will spend eight days on the space station, docking with the orbiting laboratory at 9:24 A.M. ET on Monday. The stay is two days shorter due to a delay in SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy launch from the end of April, and Axiom teams had to bump some media events during the stay. However, the company says this shortened stay shouldn’t hamper any science being done.

Part of the week’s mission will include testing technology that will be used on Axiom’s future space station, slated to launch in the next few years. Shoffner is actually the only true space tourist on this mission, but all four will be hard at work conducting important research for each of their causes.