SpaceX’s next private flight to the International Space Station awaited take-off on Sunday, weather and rocket permitting.
The passengers include Saudi Arabia’s first astronauts in decades and a US businessman who started his own sports car racing team.
They will be led by a retired Nasa astronaut who now works for the company which arranged the 10-day trip.
It is the second charter flight organised by Houston-based Axiom Space.
Looking good Ax-2 crew?This is the first look at the #Ax2 astronauts suited up as they head to historic Launch Complex 39A to prepare for launch! #TeamAxiom https://t.co/erMNXcnHiA pic.twitter.com/X7Ftx7xDyv
— Axiom Space (@Axiom_Space) May 21, 2023
The company would not say how much the latest tickets cost but previously cited per-seat prices of 55 million dollars (£44 million).
With its Falcon rocket already on the pad, SpaceX targeted a lift-off late Sunday from Nasa’s Kennedy Space Centre, the same spot where Saudi Arabia’s first astronaut, a prince, soared from in 1985.
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.
Rounding out the crew is John Shoffner, the racecar buff, and Peggy Whitson, who holds the US record for most accumulated time in space at 665 days.
