In this new era where we are slowly stepping into space tourism, Russia’s Roscosmos space agency has sent four amateur astronauts to the International Space Station in two missions it has organized since October. NASA is also preparing for its first such flight, scheduled for February 2022 by private spaceflight company Axiom using SpaceX hardware.
Axiom’s first mission early next year will take three civilians and a former astronaut to the space station for a stay of about a week. Members of the group of investors, entrepreneurs and retired fighter pilots are said to have paid an eye-watering $55 million for the journey of their lives, which is thought to be shared between Axiom, SpaceX and NASA. They will also be able to work on their own research and various charitable projects during their time at the station.
Low Earth orbit goes commercial
NASA has approved a fully custom mission to the International Space Station run by the US company Axiom Space. “NASA and its international partners have approved the Axiom Mission 1 crew for the first private astronaut mission to the International Space Station through the Multilateral Crew Operations Panel,” the agency said in a statement, confirming that the team has been cleared of medical considerations.
The mission, called Axiom Mission 1, will take on four passengers sent to the International Space Station. These include professionally trained former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría, who has flown on three Space Shuttle missions and stayed on the ISS for a previous mission.
Lopez also holds the record for the highest number of hours spent on spacewalks by an American, spending a total of 67 hours on 10 spacewalks during his career (via NASA). In addition, the team includes Larry Connor, Mark Pathy and Eytan Stibbe from the USA, Canada and Israel, respectively.
Axion Mission 1 will launch on February 28, 2022, with an eight-day stay on the space station. According to Axiom Space, the crew will conduct research during their journey. The statement on the subject on the company website says:
The Ax-1 crew will carry out an eight-day mission aboard the ISS, conducting innovative research for microgravity on behalf of large organizations from hospitals to tech companies. Critical findings from the extensive series of experiments will return to Earth and humanity.
Axiom Space is a private space company that aims not only to provide commercial flights to the International Space Station, but ultimately to own and operate its own private space station. However, it is said that the cost of this trip, which will take place this time and will take 10 days in total, including departure and return, is 55 million dollars.
The ISS has been the site of several special missions over the past few months, including a recent trip by a Russian film crew, an actress, and three Japanese space tourists working on a film shot in part in space. So now you can choose Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin to go to space or Axiom Space to fly around on the ISS.
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