Retired NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, 61, is dusting off her space suit for another trip to the final frontier, making her the oldest woman to make the trip.
Whitson, however, will be accompanied by racecar driver John Shoffner, 65, who will pilot the craft using his experience from flying planes in air shows.
The pair purchased seats aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon Capsule that will soar to the International Space Station for an eight-day stay – another two members are set to be announced.
The private flight, dubbed AX-2, is coordinated by Axiom, a firm that is working with SpaceX to send tourists into space, is planned to takeoff in the second half of 2022.
Pricing for the trip has not been disclosed, but the US government has previously indicated that each seat on a Crew Dragon could cost as much as $55 million.
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Retired NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, 61, is dusting off her space suit for another trip to the final frontier, making her the oldest woman to make the trip. Whitson, however, will be accompanied by another silver fox – racecar driver John Shonffer, 65
Whitson said: ‘I’m thrilled to get to fly to space again and lead one of the first of these pioneering missions, marking a new era of human spaceflight.
‘But even more than that, I’m eager for the chance on Ax-2 to open space up to the first full generation of private astronauts and directly link John to the research opportunities on the ISS.
‘In the time we’ve already spent together as crewmates, it’s clear to me that John will be an excellent pilot and researcher. It’s a pleasure to take him under my wing.’
Whitson is a household name in the space industry, as she is known for the longest time spent in space by any American.
Along for the ride will be John Shoffner (right), 65, a racecar driver from Arkansas, who will pilot a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule to the orbiting laboratory
Pricing for the trip has not been disclosed, but the US government has previously indicated that each seat on a Crew Dragon (pictured) could cost as much as $55 million
Whitson clocked in 535 days in orbit at 1:27AM on April 24, 2017, but has spent a total of 665 days over the course of two separate missions.
Along with breaking records during her 22-year career with NASA, Whitson also became the ISS’s first female commander and the first ISS Science Officer.
Whitson, who grew up in Iowa, knew she wanted to be an astronaut when she saw Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the moon in the 1969 Apollo mission.
In 2002, Whitson made her first space mission as a member of Expedition 5 and then went back in 2008 and 2017.
And it seems the retired NASA astronaut is yearning to return to space and will do so on a private flight through Axiom and SpaceX.
Whitson and Shoffner will train together in Axiom’s standard astronaut program to prepare them to lead the flight.
‘I’ve wanted to be an astronaut and go to space since I was 8 years old, but once I got past a certain age I let go of it to focus on other things,’ Shoffner told Supercluster.
‘But today the commercialization of space is actually here and the moment this opportunity opened with Axiom I couldn’t get on the telephone fast enough.’
Shoffner is a champion CT racer and, according to Axiom, is also an active supporter of life science research.
Although he was born in Fairbanks, Alaska, Shoffner calls Louisville, Arkansas his hometown.
Shoffner does not have any spaceflight experience, but enjoys flying plans in air shows, which deems him the right choice to pilot the capsule to the ISS.
‘I’ve known the people at 10x since they first started about a decade ago and they’re a good fit for research on orbit,’ says Shoffner.
‘They’re well-regarded in the industry and used by the top 100 research institutes. But there’s no single-cell sequencing on orbit at the moment and the researchers want that.’
In 2002 (pictured), Whitson made her first space mission as a member of Expedition 5 and then went back in 2008 and 2017
Along with breaking records during her 22-year careers with NASA, Whitson also became the ISS’s first female commander and the first ISS Science Officer. Picture is Whitson in 2017
‘Now to experience astronaut training teamed with Peggy is an honor. I am also excited about our upcoming work with 10x Genomics in this first step towards making their single-cell technologies available to researchers in a microgravity environment.
‘I look forward to the process of testing and validating this technology for future groundbreaking work in low-Earth orbit.’
In addition to their flight training, the duo will learn how to translate terrestrial single-cell genomic methods to an orbital science process in collaboration with Pleasanton, California-based 10x Genomics, a firm that develops products to master biology for advancing human health.
Shoffner (right) is a champion CT racer and, according to Axiom, is also an active supporter of life science research
Shoffner does not have any spaceflight experience, but enjoys flying plans in air shows, which deems him the right choice to pilot the capsule to the ISS
Shoffner will receive specialized spacecraft operations training to assist the commander during flight as pilot of the crew capsule and develop with Whitson the protocols necessary to conduct single-cell sequencing experiments in microgravity.
Axiom CEO Michael Suffredini said: ‘Humankind’s expansion off the planet, and the benefits it can bring back, will only be sustained by building and serving demand for expanded life and work in Low Earth Orbit.
‘There is no one better than Peggy – who would be history’s second private mission commander to the ISS – to lead the way on a mission so central to that plan, and we are thrilled to have beside her a pilot as driven and committed to this vision as John to cement this new era.’
