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Saudi Astronaut Crew Returns from Space Station 

Commander Peggy Whitson, pilot John Shoffner, and mission specialists Ali Al-Qarni and Rayyanah Barnawi representing Saudi Arabia pose before the planned Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) launch to the International Space Station at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, US May 21, 2023. (Reuters)
Commander Peggy Whitson, pilot John Shoffner, and mission specialists Ali Al-Qarni and Rayyanah Barnawi representing Saudi Arabia pose before the planned Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) launch to the International Space Station at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, US May 21, 2023. (Reuters)
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Saudi Astronaut Crew Returns from Space Station 

Commander Peggy Whitson, pilot John Shoffner, and mission specialists Ali Al-Qarni and Rayyanah Barnawi representing Saudi Arabia pose before the planned Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) launch to the International Space Station at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, US May 21, 2023. (Reuters)
Commander Peggy Whitson, pilot John Shoffner, and mission specialists Ali Al-Qarni and Rayyanah Barnawi representing Saudi Arabia pose before the planned Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) launch to the International Space Station at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, US May 21, 2023. (Reuters)

The team of Saudi astronauts, including the first Arab woman sent into orbit, splashed down safely off Florida on Tuesday night, capping an eight-day research mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying the Saudis and two Americans parachuted into the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Panama City, Florida, after a 12-hour return flight and blazing re-entry plunge through Earth's atmosphere.

The splashdown was carried live by a joint webcast presented by SpaceX and the company behind the mission, Axiom Space.

It concluded the second space station mission organized, equipped and trained entirely by Axiom, a 7-year-old Houston-based venture headed by NASA's former ISS program manager.

The Axiom 2 crew was led by retired NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, 63, who holds the US record for most time spent in orbit with 665 days in space over three long-duration missions to the ISS, including 10 spacewalks. She now serves as Axiom's director of human spaceflight.

"That was a phenomenal ride. We really enjoyed all of it," Whitson radioed to mission controllers moments after splashdown.

Ax-2's designated pilot was John Shoffner, 67, an aviator, race car driver and investor from Alaska.

Rounding out the crew as mission specialists were the first two astronauts from Saudi Arabia to fly aboard a private spacecraft - Ali Al-Qarni, 31, a fighter pilot for the Royal Saudi Air Force; and Rayyanah Barnawi, 34, a biomedical scientist in cancer stem-cell research.

Barnawi is the first woman from the Arab world ever launched into Earth orbit and the first Saudi woman to fly in space.

In August 2022, Sara Sabry became the first Arab woman and the first Egyptian to fly to space on a brief suborbital ride operated by the Blue Origin astro-tourist venture of Jeff Bezos.

California-based SpaceX, founded by Twitter owner and Tesla Inc electric carmaker CEO Elon Musk, supplied the Falcon 9 rocket and crew capsule that ferried Axiom's team to and from orbit and controlled the flight.

NASA furnished the launch site at its Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, and assumed responsibility for the Axiom crew during their stay aboard the space station, orbiting some 250 miles (400 km) above Earth.

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Power Failures Cause Disruption on London Tube

People walk at Waterloo station, after Transport for London (TfL) reported a power failure across the London Underground, London Overground and the Elizabeth line, in London, Britain, May 12, 2025. (Reuters)
People walk at Waterloo station, after Transport for London (TfL) reported a power failure across the London Underground, London Overground and the Elizabeth line, in London, Britain, May 12, 2025. (Reuters)
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Power Failures Cause Disruption on London Tube

People walk at Waterloo station, after Transport for London (TfL) reported a power failure across the London Underground, London Overground and the Elizabeth line, in London, Britain, May 12, 2025. (Reuters)
People walk at Waterloo station, after Transport for London (TfL) reported a power failure across the London Underground, London Overground and the Elizabeth line, in London, Britain, May 12, 2025. (Reuters)

Power failures caused delays and disruption on London's Tube network on Monday, as several of its busiest lines were suspended.

The Bakerloo line was completely suspended as of 1715 local time (1615 GMT), while other services including the Jubilee, Elizabeth and Piccadilly lines were facing severe or minor delays following a power outage more than two hours earlier.

Transport for London (TfL) said it was working to get the whole network back to normal service as quickly as possible.

"Due to a brief interruption of the power supply to our network, several lines lost power for a short period earlier this afternoon," TfL Chief Operating Officer Claire Mann said in a statement.

Britain's National Grid confirmed that a fault on its transmission network had caused a power failure.

"The fault was resolved within seconds and did not interrupt supply from our network, but a consequent voltage dip may have briefly affected power supplies on the low voltage distribution network in the area," a spokesperson said.

The incident also caused a small contained fire which was brought under control, National Grid said.

The potential for power failures to cause major disruption came into sharp focus in March when London's Heathrow Airport was forced to shut for 18 hours due to a fire at a nearby electrical substation, stranding hundreds of thousands of air travelers.

Transport trade union TSSA called for an inquiry into the incident to ensure a similar power outage does not happen again.

"Safety for all is key at this moment, but in due course we will need a proper inquiry into what happened and the lessons to be learned," TSSA General Secretary Maryam Eslamdoust said.