Axiom Mission 1: First Private Astronaut Mission to International Space Station targeted for Launch on April 6th

Axiom Mission 1: The first all-private astronaut mission to the International Space Station is scheduled for launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 6, 2022. The historic mission is a joint collaboration between Axiom Space, SpaceX and NASA. 

The four-member Ax-1 crew will become the first all-private astronaut team ever flown to the space station. The crew will travel to the space station on the SpaceX dragon endeavour spacecraft. SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket will be used for the launch of the spacecraft. 

The launch is being hailed by Axiom, NASA and other stakeholders as a turning point in the latest expansion of commercial space ventures.

Axiom Mission 1 Launch Date

The Axiom Mission 1 is targeted for launch on April 6, 2022.

#Ax1, the first all-private astronaut mission to @space_station is now targeted for launch on April 6th

Join us: https://t.co/QnPvccbkkr pic.twitter.com/UerCvraeyY

— Axiom Space (@Axiom_Space) March 28, 2022

Axiom Space Mission 1 (Ax-1 Mission)

• The Axiom Mission 1 will spend 8 days on the International Space Station, conducting scientific research, outreach and commercial activities. The total duration of the mission will be 10 days. 
• The Axiom Mission 1 will carry a former NASA astronaut and three US crew members. 
• The mission will be commanded by retired NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria, who will be making his 5th visit to space and third visit to the space station.
• The other crew members include mission pilot Larry Connor and Mission Specialists Eytan Stibbe and Mark Pathy. 
• NASA has concluded the flight readiness review for the Ax-1 mission and the teams are proceeding toward the launch of the first private astronaut mission to the ISS. 
• The purpose of the review was to assess the readiness of the ISS to execute the AX-1 mission including arrival, docking and in-orbit operations and undocking. 
• The Axiom Mission 1 crew will be sharing workspace with seven regular crew members of the ISS, including three US astronauts, three Russian astronauts and one German astronaut. 
• NASA and Axiom Space had signed an order for the first private astronaut mission to the ISS.

Know Axiom Mission 1 Crew Members

Michael Lopez-Alegria: The 63-year-old is a Spanish mission commander and Axiom's vice president of business development.

Larry Connor: He is a real estate and technology entrepreneur and aerobatics aviator from Ohio. He is in his 70s.

Eytan Stibbe: The 64-year-old is an investor-philanthropist and a former Israeli fighter pilot. He will become the second-ever Israeli to go to space after Ilan Ramon, who was one of the six NASA astronauts who died in the tragic 2003 Colombia Space Shuttle Disaster.

Mark Pathy: The 52-year-old is a Canadian businessman and philanthropist.

Significance

While the Axiom Mission 1 has been compared to the recent private space missions by Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic by billionaires Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson, respectively, Axiom Commander Lopez-Alegria said that their mission is more substantive. 

The Axiom team has undergone extensive astronaut training with both NASA and SpaceX and will be performing meaningful biomedical research. The Ax-1 crew will carry equipment and supplies for 26 science and technology experiments to be conducted during their stay at the space station. 

The experiments include research on brain health, cancer, cardiac stem cells and aging as well as a technology demonstration to produce optics using the surface tension of fluids in microgravity.

Background

The International Space Station has been continuously occupied since 2000 under the US-Russia-led partnership involving 13 other countries. The ISS was launched into orbit in 1998. 

While the space station has had civilian visitors previously, the Ax-1 team will be the first all-commercial team of astronauts to use the ISS for its intended purpose as an orbiting laboratory.

Axiom has a contract with Elon Musk's SpaceX to fly three more missions to orbit over the next two years. NASA had chosen Houston-based space startup Axiom in 2020 to design and develop a new commercial wing of the space station.