Four astronauts on the Special Ax-2 mission returned to Earth in SpaceX Dragon capsules late Tuesday, May 30. That Dragon, named Freedom, left the International Space Station (ISS) earlier that day at 11:05 am ET (15:05 pm GMT) and completed a 10-day mission that included eight days of docking at the orbiting laboratory. Freedom returned to Earth 12 hours later, landing flawlessly in the Gulf of Mexico off Panama City, Florida at 23:04 pm ET (03:04 GMT on May 31, 31), completing the Ax-2 mission for SpaceX’s Houston ship. . He founded the company Axiom Space.

“SpaceX, we want to tell you it’s been an extraordinary journey,” said Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut and Ax-2 commander with four spaceflight experience, shortly after landing. “We really enjoyed everything.”

The Ax-2 is Axiom Space’s second mission to the ISS after the Ax-1 in April 2022. This previous mission was the first fully privately crewed flight to an orbiting laboratory. Ax-2 was led by Whitson, a former NASA record-breaking astronaut who currently serves as director of manned spaceflight at Axiom Space. Other crew members were John Shoffner, Ali Al-Karni and Rayana Barnawi.

Shoffner was a paying client for Axiom Space, and AlKarni and Barnawi are members of world-class Saudi astronauts for the Saudi Space Commission. Second, they were the first Saudis to visit the ISS, and Barnawi became the first woman from the kingdom to reach space. Before the Ax-2, only one person from Saudi Arabia had been in space, Prince Sultan bin Salman Al Saud, who flew on Space Shuttle Discovery’s STS-51-G mission in 1985.

Speaking at a farewell ceremony held on the ISS on Monday, May 29, Barnavi said, “Every story ends at one point and this is just the beginning of a new era for our country and region.”

Whitson, who has spent more time in space than any American or any other woman, also drowned during her farewell ceremony. (The spaceflight record was 665 days before the launch of the Ax-2. She is also the first woman to command a private space mission.)

“These guys welcomed us on board,” said the Ax-2 commander, referring to the crew members of the current Expedition 69 mission to the ISS. “They helped us a lot but were also very kind and gentle. And we really appreciate all this; We felt at home while we were here. Thank you and I will be back!”

If all goes according to plan, more SpaceX Dragons will arrive at the ISS in the near future.

For example, a robotic version of the capsule is scheduled to launch on a cargo mission to the orbiting lab this Saturday (June 3). And Crew Dragon Endurance will deliver four people to the ISS as part of the SpaceX Crew-7 mission for NASA scheduled to begin in August.