Whitson and crew launch into space Sunday
May 22nd, 2023 by Ric Hanson
(Cape Canaveral, FL) – Iowa born Astronaut Peggy Whitson and three other members of the SpaceX AX-2 Dragon crew launched into space from Florida, Sunday. Whitson, who retired from NASA, is the station’s first female commander who holds the U.S. record for most accumulated time in space: 665 days and counting. The four member team are expected to spend a little over a week there before returning home with a splashdown off the Florida coast.
Others onboard during the launch include a man and woman from Saudi Arabia – a fighter pilot and scientist – and the owner of a sports car racing team from Tennessee. Whitson works for SpaceX. The others paid for their seat on the 10-day mission. While the cost of their ticket wasn’t disclosed, The company previously stated the price tag would be in the area of $55-million each.
The Saudi government is sponsoring the flight for the country’s two space-faring crew.