Private astronauts welcomed aboard International Space Station

This handout photo from Axiom Space shows the Ax-2 crew docked to the International Space Station (ISS) on May 22, 2023 following a nearly 15-hour journey. A SpaceX capsule carrying two Saudi astronauts docked with the International Space Station on Monday, as part of a private mission chartered by Axiom Space. (Courtesy / Axiom Space)

By Richard Tribou | rtribou@orlandosentinel.com | Orlando Sentinel

PUBLISHED: May 22, 2023 at 1:01 p.m. | UPDATED: May 22, 2023 at 3:50 p.m.

The population of the International Space Station grew from seven to 11 on Monday morning with the arrival of the private Axiom Space crew that launched from Kennedy Space Center.

The Ax-2 crew commanded by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson docked with the ISS on board the SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom at 9:12 a.m. after a 15-hour flight since lifting off from KSC’s Launch Pad 39-A atop a Falcon 9 rocket on Sunday evening.

“That’s the fastest docking I’ve ever had,” Whitson said during the automated maneuver.

In this handout image released by NASA on May 22, 2023, the four Axiom Mission 2 astronauts, Peggy Whitson, John Shoffner, Ali Alqarni, and Rayyanah Barnawi, gather for a crew greeting ceremony aboard the International Space Station with the seven members of Expedition 69, Frank Rubio, Woody Hoburg, and Stephen Bowen, UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Dmitri Petelin, Andrey Fedyaev, and Sergey Prokopyev. (NASA TV)

Whitson, who is now Axiom Space’s Director of Human Spaceflight, had previously flown three times to space on both space shuttles and Russian Soyuz spacecraft. She already held the record for an American in space with 665 days logged and is now adding on at least 10 more for the Ax-2 mission.

The Ax-2 crew will remain on board for what’s planned to be eight days before climbing back on board the Crew Dragon for a splashdown return off the coast of Florida.

The rest of the four-person Ax-2 crew are space rookies. They include private customer and aviator John Shoffner and Saudi Space Commission astronauts Rayyanah Barnawi and Ali AlQarni.

“It was a great launch, a great ride. We had a lot of fun on the way up, and we’re really excited to get a lot of work done up here, but it’s great for me to come back personally. It does feel like home,” Whitson said.

Whitson presented her three crewmates with official astronaut pins during a welcome ceremony on board the ISS, declaring Schoffner the 598th astronaut, AlQarni the 599th and Barnawi the 600th.

Barnawi is the first Saudi woman in space while she and AlQuarni are the first Saudis on board the ISS.

The quartet become part of Expedition 69 on the ISS made up of the four members of the SpaceX Crew-6 mission that arrived in March and the three members of the Russian Soyuz crew that flew up last fall.

Their stay will include more than 20 science and technology experiments as well as several outreach calls back to Earth, especially with school children.

With their arrival, the station now has three NASA astronauts, three Roscosmos cosmonauts, a United Arab Emirates astronaut, two Saudi Arabian astronauts, and two private American astronauts.

“It really feels like the International Space Station up here,” said NASA’s Frank Rubio. “This is going to be an awesome week. We’re all excited and super happy to have you guys up here.”