NASA will require a former astronaut to serve as mission commander on all future private flights to the International Space Station (ISS). The space agency’s policy change is said to be the result of lessons learned from the completion of the first private astronaut mission last April.
Retired astronauts will secure mission
Privately-run crewed missions require that they be led by a retired NASA astronaut, according to a new request notification by the space agency. A former NASA astronaut provides experienced guidance for private astronauts during pre-flight preparation through mission execution. Based on past orbit and NASA experience, the special astronaut mission (PAM) commander provides a link between the onboard ISS exploration team and private astronauts. and reduces the risk of ISP operations and PAM/ISS security.” statements were included.
Michael López-Alegría, a retired NASA astronaut, commanded the four-man crew on the Ax-1 mission by Axiom Space in April. Other members of the crew did not have any spaceflight experience. The company announced that the upcoming Ax-2 mission will be commanded this time by retired NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson.
In this context, NASA considers the lessons learned from the Ax-1 mission important for future flights, and the space agency wants to take this measure to prevent unsupervised missions.
Developed 3D-printed plasma sensors for satellites
NASA currently has over 200 living retired astronauts. It is a matter of curiosity how many of these people will want to work again or meet the health criteria.
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