Axiom Space crew back on Earth after record-setting flight to ISS
The Ax-2 crew is back on Earth, ending the Houston company’s second mission to the International Space Station.
Former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, endurance motorsports racer John Shoffner, Saudi fighter pilot Ali Alqarni and Saudi biomedical researcher Rayyanah Barnawi splashed down off the coast of Florida at 10:04 p.m. Tuesday.
They had launched toward the space station nine days earlier on a mission organized by Houston’s Axiom Space. Crew members filled their time with more than 20 experiments and more than 20 outreach engagements — as well as eight media events. They orbited the Earth 126 times and traveled 3.3 million miles.
And the crew briefly contributed to a record 17 people orbiting the Earth at the same time: 11 on the International Space Station and six on China’s Tiangong space station, according to Space.com.
The record for most people in space (rather than just Earth’s orbit) occurred last week when Virgin Galactic flew six people into space on a suborbital mission that spent just a few minutes in weightlessness. These six people joined three people on China’s station at that time and 11 people on the International Space Station for a record 20 people in space.
Whitson thanked the ISS occupants during a tearful farewell ceremony.
“They welcomed us onboard and they’ve helped us a lot,” she said. “They’ve also just been so courteous and kind, and we really appreciate all of that. We felt at home while we were here. Thank you, and I will be back.”
Shoffner admitted he’d “tested the patience of everyone here with my flying skills,” and Alqarni and Barnawi gave farewell speeches in Arabic and English. They were the first Saudis to visit the International Space Station, and Barnawi was the first Arab woman to orbit Earth.
“This is only the beginning of a new era for our country and our region,” Barnawi said.
The Ax-2 crew landed with more than 300 pounds of cargo and data from a variety of research. Whitson returned home with a record 674 days in space. The former NASA astronaut, who now works at Axiom Space as the director of human spaceflight, began her journey with a record 665 cumulative days — the most of any American.
She offered some advice to students during a live event at Space Center Houston.
“It took me over 10 years applying as an astronaut,” Whitson said. “And I was doing all these activities that I wasn’t sure I could do prior to that. I had many different leadership activities ... that really challenged me. But those activities in the end were what made me a better astronaut.
“I think it’s really important that everyone tries to live a little bit outside what they’re comfortable with,” she added. “Challenge yourself to do something you don’t know how to do or you’re not sure about. Because if you fail at something, you learn something from it. And you’ll be better the next time.”