SpaceX is preparing to launch the first all-private astronaut crew to the ISS for Axiom Space. Ax-1 includes an international crew of four private astronauts on a ten-day mission to space where they will live and work aboard the International Space Station for eight days.
Ax-1 is currently scheduled for liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 10:17 am CT.
Launch coverage will be provided by Axiom Space and NASA, beginning at 6:55 am CT and 9:15 am CT respectively. Tune in to axiomspace.com to view live coverage of the astronauts from the time they walk out to their launch. NASA coverage can be viewed live on the agency’s website.
Axiom Space is a private space company building the first private space station, and training private astronauts in the meantime. This, and future, private astronaut mission to the International Space Station is a first, and crucial, step in realizing a new orbiting station in space.
During their ten-day mission, the crew of Ax-1 will travel to the ISS, carrying out dozens of experiments in microgravity, and inform the future foundation of a commercial outpost in space. To prepare for this mission, NASA and Axiom Space have worked closely together to train and prepare the private astronauts, make Station more accessible to the crew, and facilitate a cooperative atmosphere among all agency astronauts already on board and the Ax-1 crew.
The four-man crew is led by Axiom Space VP and former NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria. Flying with him is pilot, Larry Conor, mission specialists Eytan Stibbe and Mark Pathy.
This article was previously published by Sophie Sanchez on ChicagoNow.
