First fully private crewed mission goes into space this Friday (8)

The launch of the first completely private mission to the International Space Station (ISS) is scheduled for this Friday (8). The operation will have four crew members.

The Axiom Space 1 (Ax-1) mission, scheduled to lift off at 12:17 pm ET, represents both the culmination of NASA’s efforts to promote a commercial market in low Earth orbit and the beginning of a new era of space exploration. that allows more people to fly on more types of missions, according to NASA.

“The Ax-1 is further evidence of what has become increasingly clear: this is the golden age of commercial spaceflight,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.

“NASA’s partnership with industry through commercial cargo and crew programs — and now commercial destinations — has been essential to the continued development of a thriving commercial space sector,” he said.

who are the travelers

The Ax-1 crew members are: former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría, entrepreneur Larry Connor, Canadian Mark Pathy and former Israeli fighter pilot Eytan Stibbe.

The crew will fly to the space station aboard the SpaceX Dragon Endeavor on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in flight from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

López-Alegría, who was born in Spain, grew up in California and spent 20 years as a NASA astronaut, will serve as the mission’s commander. Connor, of Dayton, Ohio, will serve as the pilot. Pathy from Canada and Stibbe from Israel will be mission specialists.

Responsibilities

In the partnership, NASA’s responsibility is the mission’s integrated operations, which begin during the spacecraft’s approach to the ISS and continue during the eight days of the crew aboard the orbiting laboratory conducting scientific, educational and commercial activities.

“The space station is an incredible place with incredible capacity, and we are pleased to see this crew’s interest in conducting their own science and outreach during their stay,” said Joel Montalbano, International Space Station Program Manager.

Axiom Space, in turn, must maintain mission authority. “This private mission is a part of our overall effort,” explained Angela Hart, NASA’s Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Commercial Development Program Manager.

She also said that she is working with private industry to develop future commercial stations in orbit with the aim of creating a robust ecosystem of destinations for future space travelers.

First private space mission

This will not be the first time the space station has received visits from civilians. However, the Ax-1 mission will mark the first commercial team of astronauts to use the ISS for its intended purpose as an orbiting laboratory.

The crew will carry equipment and supplies for 26 scientific and technological studies to be carried out before leaving orbit and returning to Earth ten days after launch.

They will share the workspace alongside seven crew members already on the ISS — three American, one German and three Russian astronauts.

The travelers have another mission: They will bring back samples and hardware from three NASA biology experiments on the ISS, for ongoing evaluation and research on Earth that will enable future NASA Artemis missions to the Moon, according to Montalbano.

Axiom said it has contracted with SpaceX to carry out three more missions into orbit over the next two years.

NASA selected Axiom in 2020 to design and develop a new commercial wing for the space station, which currently spans the approximate size of a football field.

How to watch the launch

Live coverage of the Ax-1 launch will be a joint effort with Axiom, NASA and SpaceX. Coverage will follow the journey of the four-person multinational crew from docking to takeoff and will continue until about 15 minutes after launch.

Axiom and SpaceX will begin covering pre-launch and launch activities live starting at 8:50 am ET this Friday. NASA is expected to join the broadcast at around 11:15 am.

*With information from Reuters