Iowa’s Peggy Whitson to Command Private Space Mission

(CAPE CANAVERAL, FL) -- Record-setting Iowa native Peggy Whitson will command Axiom Mission 4, a private flight to the International Space Station.

NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX plan to launch the mission as early as Wednesday from Kennedy Space Center after a weather delay. Whitson will lead an international crew, spending two weeks on the ISS to conduct science, education, and commercial projects.

Whitson, who grew up in Beaconsfield, holds the American record for time spent in space, with 675 days—more than any other U.S. astronaut or woman in the world.