Whitson, a record-setting astronaut, will launch with pilot and racecar drive John Shoffner. Former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, shown here on the International Space Station during the Expedition 50 mission in 2016, will return to the station in command of the private Ax-2 mission by Axiom Space.. (Image credit: NASA) Former astronaut Peggy Whitson, who set a number of records for women in space during her NASA career, will return to orbit as commander of a private mission to be launched by Axiom Space, the company announced today (May 25). Whitson flew three long-duration missions to the International Space Station and was the first woman to command the station and serve as NASA's chief astronaut before she retired from the agency in 2018. During her NASA career, she set the current record for the most time in space by an American astronaut: 665 days.