SpaceX launches 4-person crew toward International Space Station

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX rocketed into space toward the International Space Station on Sunday.

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The second charter flight organized by Houston-based Axiom Space lifted off cleanly from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral at 5:38 p.m. EDT.

The four crew members on board will dock at the ISS and remain there for about eight days, WFTV reported.

The Dragon capsule is expected to dock at the ISS on Monday morning, The Washington Post reported.

Peggy Whitson, Axiom Space’s director of human spaceflight, is a former NASA astronaut and ISS commander. She is leading the mission for the company, according to WFTV. It is her fourth flight into space, the Post reported.

The Falcon 9′s first-stage booster landed safely on Landing Zone 1, marking the first time it has been achieved during a human space flight, according to SpaceX.

Whitson holds the U.S. record for most accumulated time in space, spending 665 days away from Earth, The Associated Press reported.

Other crew members include pilot John Shoffner and specialists Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi. WFTV reported that Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi are both Saudi nationals and that Barnawi will be the first Saudi woman in space.

This is the first crew from Saudi Arabia to ride a rocket since a Saudi Prince was part of the space shuttle Discovery in 1985, according to the AP. They will greeted at the ISS by an astronaut from the United Arab Emirates.

The first group of private citizens to rocket into space included three wealthy businessmen and Michael López-Alegría, a former NASA astronaut who serves as Axiom’s chief astronaut, according to the Post.

On its website, Axiom Space said that once the stage separation happens, the Falcon 9 will land on Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station..

“Axiom Space’s Ax-2 mission continues progress toward the Axiom Station and a sustainable low-Earth orbit economy as humans venture farther for longer duration in space,” Axiom said.

The crew is expected to perform about 20 different experiments and activities in order to learn more about human physiology as well as technology for future trips, WFTV reported.

Axiom Space did not say how much tickets cost for Sunday’s flight, but according to the AP, tickets last year were about $55 million per seat.

The company said it plans to build its own space station and plans to call it Axiom Station, WFTV reported.

“This Axiom Mission 2 is just a precursor for where we’re headed to,” Whitson said in a statement. “We want to be able to have a commercial space station. We plan to have the first module up in late 2025. And that will expand our capability to do commercial space.”