In less than two hours, private space firm Axiom Space is set to launch its second all-civilian flight. At approximately 5:37PM ET, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will attempt to carry the four-person crew, including former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, to the International Space Station. You can watch the mission as it unfolds from the Kennedy Space Center starting at 5PM ET. NASA will stream the launch on its website and YouTube channel. You can also watch the flight on Axiom Space’s website and right here.
Ax-2 is the follow up to Axiom Space’s first private space flight, which successfully carried a crew of civilian astronauts to the ISS last year. In addition to Whitson, the crew of Axiom Mission 2 is made up of entrepreneur John Shoffner and Saudi astronauts Ali AlQarni and Rayyanah Barnawi. After the Ax-2 team arrives at the ISS early Monday morning, they will spend the next eight days assisting the space station's crew with a handful of experiments. Axiom Space plans to fly another mission to the ISS later this year.
Update 5/22/2023 2:48 AM ET: Following a successful launch, the astronauts are on their way to the International Space Station and set to dock to the Harmony module at around 9:16 AM ET. The hatch will be opened around 11:13 AM, with the welcoming ceremony taking place at about 11:45 AM. NASA will carry all the proceedings live here starting at 7:30 AM ET.