Ax-2 Mission Launch Date Set
Axiom Space has announced that the Ax-2 mission launch date has been set for May 8 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Ax-2 mission will lift off at 10:34 pm EDT from Launch Complex 39A on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
"In some respects, we have to remind them that the objective is to experience the moment given all the research they have to do."
Axiom Space CEO Michael Sufferdini.
"We'll have over 20 research experiments, mostly applied research," said Axiom Space CEO Michael Sufferdini. "In some respects, we have to remind them that the objective is to experience the moment given all the research they have to do."
The Ax-2 mission is the second in a series of full missions that will lead eventually to the construction of the Axiom Space Station, Sufferdini said during a virtual news conference last week. "So we are learning to work efficiently and safely on orbit with NASA so that when our first module arrives and our crew habitates in the module that we'll be able to work efficiently with NASA and be able to work from this single-strand mission from the International Space Station to the Axiom space station when the ISS is retired."
Among the more than 20 experiments that will be conducted on Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2), Axiom Space has partnered with the Rakia Mission, Cosmic Shielding Corporation, and King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, in collaboration with the Saudi Space Commission and Nanoracks, to advance physical science research aboard the International Space Station (ISS). These experiments will help us better understand atmospheric activity, protection against space radiation, and how weather modification works in low-gravity conditions.
Ax-2 Mission Research Focuses on Biomanufacturing Applications
Unique to this mission, there is a strong focus on projects developing in-space biomanufacturing applications. Four experiments flying on Ax-2 are part of larger partnerships between Axiom Space and academic and industrial partners to perform proof-of-concept studies for in-space biomanufacturing, which has the potential to address current roadblocks in regenerative medicine, drug development, and technology advancement.
"It is exciting to see the wide range of important research that will be conducted on this mission and to be taking the first steps in developing future in-space manufacturing applications for some of our biomedical products," said Christian Maender, executive vice president of in-space solutions at Axiom Space in a news release. "We are pleased to have the opportunity with our private astronaut missions to advance this important work as we build a future commercial space economy.
Axiom Space’s Chief Scientist Dr. Lucie Low echoed Maender’s excitement for the science on the mission, “We’re delighted to support these scientific and research and manufacturing projects on the Ax-2 mission, as well as provide opportunities to conduct research in microgravity for partner countries and nations with limited access.” said Low. “The projects flying on this mission will advance the use of low-Earth orbit as a manufacturing platform for technologies that could advance human health on Earth, add to our understanding of health in space, and demonstrate how to best operate safely and effectively on orbit.”
The Ax-2 crew members are Commander Peggy Whitson and Pilot John Shoffner, both from the United States, and Mission Specialists Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi representing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
(Source: Axiom Space news releases. Images from file)