DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Private astronaut crew, including first Arab woman in orbit, heads for splashdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Steve Gorman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Joe Skipper/File... Read moreMay 30 (Reuters) - An all-private astronaut team of two Americans and two Saudis, including the first Arab woman ever sent into orbit, headed for splashdown off Florida's coast on Tuesday, capping an eight-day research mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The SpaceX Crew Dragon vessel carrying the foursome, undocked from the ISS late on Tuesday morning to begin its 12-hour return flight. The return flight concludes the second space station mission organized, equipped and trained entirely at private expense by Axiom Space, a 7-year-old Houston-based company headed by NASA's former ISS program manager. In August 2022, Sara Sabry became the first Arab woman and the first Egyptian to fly to space on a brief suborbital ride operated by the Blue Origin astro-tourist venture of Jeff Bezos. NASA furnished the launch site at its Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, and assumed responsibility for the Axiom crew during their stay aboard the space station, orbiting some 250 miles (400 km) above Earth.

Persons: Peggy Whitson, John Shoffner, Ali Alqarni, Joe Skipper, Read, NASA's, Rayyanah Barnawi, Sara Sabry, Jeff Bezos, Barnawi, Sultan Alneyadi, Elon Musk, Steve Gorman, Howard Goller Organizations: International, Kennedy Space Center, REUTERS, Space, SpaceX, ISS, NASA, U.S, Royal Saudi Air Force, United Arab, Twitter, Tesla Inc, Thomson Locations: Saudi Arabia, Florida, U.S, Florida's, Gulf of Mexico, Panama City , Florida, Houston, Alaska, Saudi, Gulf, United Arab Emirates, California, Cape Canaveral , Florida, Los Angeles

☆ SpaceX Axiom 2 mission returns from space station
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

This mission, dubbed Axiom Mission 2, or AX-2, launched from Florida on May 21. The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying Axiom Mission 2's four-person crew splashed down off the coast of Panama City, Florida, at 11:04 p.m. A company called Space Adventures brokered several such missions to the space station in the early 2000s, booking rides for wealthy thrill seekers on Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft. The SpaceX capsule transported the AX-2 crew back to Earth after a weeklong mission at the International Space Station. Axiom is one of several US companies gunning to create a new, privately owned space station.

Persons: Rayyanah Barnawi, Peggy Whitson, Whitson, I’m, ” Whitson, John Shoffner, Ali AlQarni, “, ” Barnawi, Barnawi, AlQarni, “ That’s, I’ve, ”, Prince Sultan bin Salman, Biden, axiomspace, Derek Hassmann, it’s, gunning Organizations: CNN, SpaceX, NASA, International, Houston, Crew, Dura, Line Corp, Royal Saudi Air Force, United Arab Emirates Space Agency, Russian Soyuz, Saudi, Space, Soyuz, Government Locations: Panama City , Florida, Gulf of Mexico, Florida, Saudi Arabia, American, Russian, United States

☆ SpaceX delivers private Axiom crew to the space station, carrying Saudi astronauts
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule "Freedom" is seen docked with the International Space Station on May 22, 2023. Axiom Space booked the roughly week-long trip, known as the Ax-2 mission, to the ISS with Elon Musk's company. The four-person private astronaut Ax-2 crew, which will spend eight days on the International Space Station, includes former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, pilot John Shoffner, and Saudi Space Commission astronauts Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi, the first Saudi woman to fly to space. NASA has previously disclosed that a SpaceX crew launch costs about $55 million per seat, so the price for these private missions is expected to be high. Although SpaceX is providing the rocket and capsule, Axiom is leading the mission's management from training to the return to Earth.

☆ SpaceX mission lifts off with former NASA astronaut, three paying customers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The AX-2 crew is being led by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, 63, now an Axiom employee. After the Crew Dragon capsule docks early Monday, the AX-2 crew will join seven astronauts already aboard the space station. The first was Prince Sultan bin Salman, who spent about a week on a NASA space shuttle mission in 1985. Axiom is one of several US companies gunning to create a new, privately owned space station. The AX-2 crew will work alongside the professional astronauts on the space station, though they will operate under different schedules.

☆ How to watch SpaceX Axiom 2 launch
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more.CNN —SpaceX is set to launch four passengers — including three paying customers — toward a weeklong stay aboard the International Space Station. The Axiom Ax-2 Prime crew members, from left to right: John Shoffner, Rayyanah Barnawi, Peggy Whitson, and Ali Alqarni, will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station. Axiom brought that business model to the United States, partnering with SpaceX to establish a framework for getting an array of customers to the space station. Axiom is one of several US companies gunning to create a new, privately owned space station. The AX-2 crew will work alongside the professional astronauts on the space station, though they will operate under different schedules.

☆ SpaceX launching Saudi astronauts on private flight to space station
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule, are prepared to carry four crew members on Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) to the International Space Station, at the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S. May 21, 2023. SpaceX's next private flight to the International Space Station awaited takeoff Sunday, weather and rocket permitting. The passengers include Saudi Arabia's first astronauts in decades, as well as a Tennessee businessman who started his own sports car racing team. With its Falcon rocket already on the pad, SpaceX targeted a liftoff late Sunday afternoon from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Representing the Saudi Arabian government this time are Rayyanah Barnawi, a stem cell researcher set to become the kingdom's first woman in space, and Royal Saudi Air Force fighter pilot Ali al-Qarni.

☆ Saudi Arabia buys pair of SpaceX astronaut seats from Axiom
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Under the deal, two Saudi astronauts will ride SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule to the space station for a roughly weeklong stay early next year, the sources said. Officials with the Saudi Space Commission, Riyadh's space agency founded in 2018, were not immediately available to comment. The Saudi astronauts will join two previously announced Americans, retired NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson and race car driver and investor John Shoffner, the sources said. For Axiom and other space companies, cutting deals with foreign governments is seen as vital to sustaining a business centered on putting people in space. Axiom's astronaut flight business is crucial experience for the company's broader goals of deploying its own private space station by mid-decade.

☆ Exclusive: Saudi Arabia buys pair of SpaceX astronaut seats from Axiom -sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Under the deal, two Saudi astronauts will ride SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule to the space station for a roughly weeklong stay early next year, the sources said. Officials with the Saudi Space Commission, Riyadh's space agency founded in 2018, were not immediately available to comment. The Saudi astronauts will join two previously announced Americans, retired NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson and race car driver and investor John Shoffner, the sources said. Axiom launched its first private mission to the space station in April, sending a four-man crew to the space station aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule that included a Canadian investor and an Israeli businessman. Axiom's astronaut flight business is crucial experience for the company's broader goals of deploying its own private space station by mid-decade.

☆ SpaceX astronauts on an all-private mission to the ISS are spending a day free flying in orbit after their return home was delayed
▼ + stars: | 2022-04-24 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

SpaceX astronauts on the Ax-1 ISS mission will return on Monday, NASA's head of spaceflights said. Poor weather conditions delayed the return of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spaceship. "We want about 2-days between #Ax1 return & Crew-4 launch for @NASA & @SpaceX to complete data reviews & stage recovery assets. Ax-1 includes a crew of four in the first all-private flight, which took place aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon spaceship. Axiom is expected to launch a second commercial mission to the ISS in late 2022 or spring 2023.

Search resuls for: "John Shoffner"

9 mentions found