NASA and Axiom Space have signed an order for the first private astronaut mission to the International Space Station to take place no earlier than January 2022.
NASA and Axiom Space have agreed to take civilans to the ISS. Axiom Mission 1 will launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida “no earlier than January 2022,” according to NASA. The four astronauts, who will travel on a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, are scheduled to spend eight days aboard the ISS. They’ll bring back scientific samples for NASA that have to be kept in cold storage.
NASA and its international partner agencies have to approve Axiom’s proposed crew, which includes a former NASA astronaut and three businessmen. Training should start this summer.
“We are excited to see more people have access to spaceflight through this first private astronaut mission to the space station,” said Kathy Lueders, associate administrator for human exploration and operations at NASA Headquarters. “One of our original goals with the Commercial Crew Program, and again with our Commercial Low-Earth Orbit Development Program, is that our providers have customers other than NASA to grow a commercial economy in low-Earth orbit.”
The spaceflight, designated as Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1), will launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and travel to the International Space Station. Once docked, the Axiom astronauts are scheduled to spend eight days aboard the orbiting laboratory. NASA and Axiom mission planners will coordinate in-orbit activities for the private astronauts to conduct in coordination with space station crew members and flight controllers on the ground.
