A Kentucky middle school is expecting a call from the International Space Station soon
Kentucky-raised pilot John Shoffner will fulfill a lifelong dream this week as he serves as pilot for Axiom Space’s Ax-2 mission, which launched Sunday.
Shoffner attended Middlesboro public schools as a child and became a pilot at 17 years old. While he currently lives in Knoxville, Tenn., he grew up in the Bluegrass State and graduated from Middlesboro High School.
“The space race was the biggest thing going on when I was growing up. I grew up in the early 60s at the very beginning of the space race, and it was every 8-year-old’s dream to go to space. I fell in love,” Shoffner wrote in an email to the Herald-Leader.
Peggy Whitson, “America’s most experienced astronaut,” is commanding the mission. Whitson broke records as a NASA astronaut before moving to Axiom Space.
“Working with a crew that’s dynamic and serving under a fabulous commander, Dr. Peggy Whitson — it’s a dream of a lifetime to have that opportunity to fly with one of America’s most famous astronauts. This is the beginning of private and commercial space exploration and I’m proud to be a part of it,” Shoffner said.
Whitson and Shoffner are traveling with mission specialists Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi in SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft to work and live on the International Space Station “to implement a full manifest of science, outreach, and commercial activities,” according to the Axiom Space website.
“It’s what I believe I was supposed to do,” Shoffner told the Herald-Leader.
Shoffner, Barnawi and Alqarni are paying customers on the Axiom Space flight, which is the second private astronaut trip to the International Space Station in history, Space.com reported.
“Axiom won’t say how much Shoffner and Saudi Arabia are paying for the planned 10-day mission. The company had previously cited a ticket price of $55 million each,” the Associated Press reported.
Barnawi is Saudi Arabia’s first woman to visit space.
Shoffner outlines mission goals
Shoffner’s main goal for the 10-day mission is to create science, technology, engineering, art and math education videos, including demonstrations on the International Space Station. The content is slated to be available to classrooms this fall.
“It reminds me of when I was a student and the excitement that I would’ve had if someone came to our school as an astronaut to present and talk to us about their experience in space,” Shoffner said. “If I had that as a young person, it would have been truly exciting. It feels great to share that with young people today.”
The team will conduct more than 20 experiments throughout the mission, focusing on life sciences, bioengineering and other topics, Whitson said in a May 16 press conference.
Student outreach will be an important component of the mission, as well. Shoffner and Whitson conducted a live video chat with students from Middlesboro Middle School and high school in March, and Shoffner will participate in two more engagements while in space.
One event will take place through a 10-minute amateur radio conversation between students and the astronauts, and another will be a live interactive video where students will get a peek into the International Space Station while taking part in an interactive demonstration.
Shoffner told the Herald-Leader his interactions with Kentucky students give the mission purpose.
“Stay interested,” Shoffner encouraged students. “There’s a lot going on today in space, and you can develop so many careers and interests within the space industry. From doctors, lawyers, scientists, researchers, technicians, pilots, scuba divers and more – there is a place for you in the space industry.”
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