Axiom Mission 2 Launches to the International Space Station (Official NASA Broadcast)

Axiom Mission 2, set to lift off at 5:37 p.m. EDT (2137 UTC) on Sunday, May 21, is the second all-private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. Ax-2 is launching from NASA's Kennedy Space Center aboard SpaceX's Dragon Freedom spacecraft—it’s the same capsule that carried NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts to the station in 2022.

During their scheduled eight-day stay aboard the orbiting laboratory, the crew of Ax-2—commander Peggy Whitson, pilot John Shoffner, and mission specialists Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi—will engage in technology demonstrations, student outreach, and scientific experiments ranging from cancer treatments to weather research.