Private astronaut crew, including first Arab woman in orbit, returns from space station
- Date: 31-May-2023
- Source: Zawya
- Sector:Financial Markets
- Country:Saudi Arabia
Private astronaut crew, including first Arab woman in orbit, returns from space station
An all-private astronaut team of two Americans and two Saudis, including the first Arab woman sent into orbit, splashed down safely off Florida on Tuesday night, capping an eight-day research mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying them parachuted into the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Panama City, Florida, after a 12-hour return flight and blazing re-entry plunge through Earth's atmosphere.
The splashdown was carried live by a joint webcast presented by SpaceX and the company behind the mission, Axiom Space.
It concluded the second space station mission organized, equipped and trained entirely at private expense by Axiom, a 7-year-old Houston-based venture headed by NASA's former ISS program manager.
The Axiom 2 crew was led by retired NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, 63, who holds the U.S. record for most time spent in orbit with 665 days in space over three long-duration missions to the ISS, including 10 spacewalks. She now serves as Axiom's director of human spaceflight.
"That was a phenomenal ride. We really enjoyed all of it," Whitson radioed to mission controllers moments after splashdown.
Ax-2's designated pilot was John Shoffner, 67, an aviator, race car driver and investor from Alaska.
Rounding out the crew as mission specialists