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Derek Richardson
Could thirty first, 2023
After practically 10 days in area, the all-private Axiom-2 astronauts are again on Earth, having splashed down of their Dragon capsule within the water off the coast of Florida.
Axiom-2 splashed down at 11:04 p.m. Could 30 (15:04 UTC Could 31), 2023, off the coast of Panama Metropolis, Florida, within the Gulf of Mexico. Aboard was Axiom Area astronaut (and former NASA astronaut) Peggy Whitson, business astronaut John Shoffner, and Saudi Arabian astronauts Ali AlQarni and Rayyanah.
“SpaceX, we want to inform you that was an outstanding trip,” Whitson, the mission’s commander stated following splashdown. “We actually loved all of it. You guys are the very best.”
This was the primary spaceflight for all however Whitson, who beforehand flew to the Worldwide Area Station as a NASA astronaut throughout three long-duration missions between 2002 and 2017 culminating in 665 days — probably the most for any American astronaut and ninth most-time in area total.
With Axiom-2, her time in area is now at 674 days.
Axiom-2 Dragon undocked at 11:05 a.m. EDT (15:05 UTC) Could 30, 2023, from the space-facing port of the Concord module. It slowly backed away from the Worldwide Area Station earlier than starting a 12-hour coast towards its eventual deorbit burn and reentry into Earth’s environment.
Earlier than undocking, the non-public four-person crew spent eight days performing quite a few duties, together with greater than 20 completely different experiments and expertise demonstrations.
The Axiom-2 mission docked to the ISS on Could 22 lower than 17 hours after launching atop a Falcon 9 rocket at 5:37 pm. EDT (21:37 UTC) Could 21 from Kennedy Area Heart in Florida.
Throughout the Axiom-2 crew’s time aboard the ISS, the area station’s inhabitants elevated to 11 individuals — 4 from Axiom and 7 from the Expedition 69 crew. In the meantime, the Chinese language launched three astronauts to their Tiangong area station in Shenzhou 16 at 9:31 p.m. EDT Could 29 (01:31 UTC Could 30).
They docked a number of hours later to interchange the present three-person Shenzhou 15 crew aboard the Chinese language area station.
With 11 on ISS and 6 on Tiangong, a report 17 individuals have been in orbit at present. That quantity is now all the way down to 13 till the three-person Shenzhou 15 crew departs Tiangong later this week, at which level it can lower to 10 individuals.
Following splashdown, the Crew Dragon capsule was picked up by SpaceX’s restoration ship Megan. Inside below an hour, all 4 members of Axiom-2 have been out of the capsule to obtain preliminary medical checks.
They have been then flown again to Kennedy Area Heart the place they’ll fly residence to their locations world wide.
This was Axiom Area’s second all-private mission to the Worldwide Area Station. The primary occurred in April 2022. A 3rd is anticipated later this yr as the corporate prepares for its first area station modules to be launched to the ISS as early as late 2025.
Axiom Area plans to construct its personal area on the ISS. When it comes time for the decades-old ISS to be deorbited, the Axiom modules shall be indifferent to kind an unbiased station run by the corporate.
Video courtesy of SpaceX
Derek Richardson
Derek Richardson has a level in mass media, with an emphasis in modern journalism, from Washburn College in Topeka, Kansas. Whereas at Washburn, he was the managing editor of the scholar run newspaper, the Washburn Assessment. He additionally has an internet site about human spaceflight referred to as Orbital Velocity. You could find him on twitter @TheSpaceWriter.
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