AIAA Statement on the Axiom Mission (AX-2) Launch Written 21 May 2023
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the company’s Dragon spacecraft, lifts off from NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 21, 2023, for the Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) to the ISS. | Credit: NASA
May 21, 2023 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Executive Director Dan Dumbacher made the following statement:
“On behalf of the 30,000 professional and student members of AIAA, we congratulate the entire Axiom team on its successful AX-2 launch onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. We applaud this private mission to the International Space Station (ISS), showing how NASA and private industry are working together to extend the human neighborhood into low Earth orbit in meaningful ways.
In addition to expanding commercial research opportunities in the ISS orbiting laboratory, the AX-2 mission adds more names to the growing list of astronauts due to commercial space activity. We are seeing a new breed of explorer emerge in low Earth orbit – from a retired NASA astronaut returning to space like Commander Peggy Whitson, to adventurer and Pilot John Shoffner, to two crewmembers from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We are encouraged to see the space economy growing, as these explorers and innovators work to improve life on Earth and accelerate our off-world future. We look forward to following their progress.
We recognize the countless aerospace industry professionals involved in making this mission a success. We salute Axiom, NASA, and SpaceX, and their entire team, for helping shape the future of aerospace.”
Media Contact: Rebecca B. Gray, RebeccaG@AIAA.org, 804-397-5270 cell
About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit www.aiaa.org, and follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.