Search
06 Sept 2025
Search
06 Sept 2025
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.
Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.
If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .
Support our mission and join our community now.
To continue reading this article, you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles!
Alternatively, you can pay €0.50 per article, capped at €1 per day.
Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism!
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.
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.
This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.
