'Go' for launch: SpaceX's Ax-2 private astronaut mission set for this weekend
Axiom Space is looking to send its second all private mission to the International Space Station on Sunday. Our Space Coast Bureau Chief Scott Heidler was just listening in on a flight readiness teleconference. What are they saying about this launch Scott? Well so far it's actually quite good news right off the top of that teleconference again this involved NASA, SpaceX and Axiom leadership. They have all pulled go for this launch on Sunday so that is good news. Now AX2 does push forward with all commercial spaceflight up to low-Earth orbit. For Axiom it's more than that. These flights build Axiom's mission experience for their teams working with NASA and SpaceX but it's also leading to the building blocks of what will eventually be the first commercial space station.
To make sure that their commercial space station is operational in the future so to shake down things now as I say gain experience it's perfect time to do that when you've got an operational station and you can kind of do things in steps. The crew of four will be led by mission commander a record-setting former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson. The other three crew are paying for the 12-day mission. Two Saudi astronauts including the first ever female from the kingdom to fly into space a seasoned American aviator will serve as pilot. The mission paves away for Axiom's plan to attach a module a section of their station to the ISS by 2025. That if they bring this module up and attach it to the ISS they can use the power on ISS they can use some of the communications function on ISS so it doesn't have to be fully functional and then over time they're gonna add a second and a third module. And toward the end of the decade the plan is for the Axiom station to separate from the ISS.
And this step toward building the next generation space station is tracking well again for that liftoff at 5.37 p.m. from the Kennedy Space Center reporting live on the Space Coast. Scott Heidler, West 2 News.
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