Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) is a private spaceflight to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission is scheduled to launch on January 17, 2024 and is expected to last about 14 days.
Ax-3 will be the first all-European commercial astronaut mission to the ISS. The mission will mark a new era for countries to join the international space community and access low-Earth orbit.
Ax-3 is the third private astronaut mission to the ISS organized by Houston-based Axiom Space. All of these flights use SpaceX hardware to send four-person crews to the ISS for roughly two-week-long missions
The crew of Axiom Space’s Ax-3 mission includes:
Michael López-Alegría A dual U.S.-Spanish citizen and former NASA astronaut who will command the mission. López-Alegría also commanded the Ax-1 mission in 2022.
Walter Villadei An Italian Air Force colonel who will serve as pilot. Villadei trained as a backup for the Ax-2 mission and flew on Virgin Galactic’s first commercial suborbital flight in June.
Alper Gezeravcı The first astronaut from Turkey.
Marcus Wandt A Swedish astronaut and member of the 2022 European Space Agency Astronaut Group. Wandt’s mission will be the first commercial spaceflight for an ESA-sponsored astronaut.
All four crew members have extensive flight crew experience and have served in their nation’s Air Forces.
Ax-3 represents growth in commercial space exploration and a testament to international and commercial collaboration, as the first all-European commercial astronauts prepare to join those from different nations aboard the ISS, fostering camaraderie and shared knowledge beyond earthly boundaries
SpaceX is the first private company to successfully launch, orbit, and recover a spacecraft. On December 8, 2010, SpaceX launched the Dragon spacecraft into orbit and returned it to Earth safely
SpaceX is an American aerospace company founded in 2002 by Elon Musk. SpaceX has also developed a liquid-propellant rocket that has reached orbit. In 2012, SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft became the first commercial spacecraft to deliver cargo to and from the International Space Station (ISS). In 2020, SpaceX became the first private company to take humans to the ISS
Axiom Mission 1 (or Ax-1) was a privately funded and operated crewed mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission was operated by Axiom Space out of Axiom’s Mission Control Center MCC-A in Houston, Texas
Axiom Space, a Houston-based company, organized the first all-private crewed mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission, called Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1), launched on April 8, 2022. The crew included a former NASA astronaut and three paying customers
Axiom Space was founded in 2016 by Michael T. Suffredini and Kam Ghaffarian. The company’s goal is to own and operate the world’s first commercial space station in the late 2020s
The first commercial orbital crew launch was in May 2020, when SpaceX transported NASA astronauts to the ISS.
Here are some other commercial space missions:
- SpaceShipOne The first private human spaceflight launch was a suborbital flight on SpaceShipOne on June 21, 2004.
- Galactic 01 Virgin Galactic’s first commercial suborbital flight, which was a significant milestone.
- New Shepard The first commercial vehicle to fly paying customers, both payloads and astronauts, to space and back.
The first commercially sponsored space launch was on July 10, 1962, when Telstar 1 was launched on a Thor-Delta rocket.
The commercial space age began on September 9, 1982, when a privately funded rocket was launched from a facility on Matagorda Island, Texas.
In 1989, the U.S.-licensed commercial space industry made its first launch when Space Service, Inc. sent a scientific payload on a suborbital trip. Later that year, McDonnell Douglas made the first U.S.-licensed commercial orbital launch.
Arianespace, the first commercial space transportation company, was created in 1980.
In 2002, SpaceX was founded and helped usher in the era of commercial spaceflight. In December 2010, SpaceX became the first commercial company to release a spacecraft into orbit and successfully return it to Earth.
In 2004, Virgin Galactic was founded by Richard Branson. In June 2023, Virgin Galactic completed its first commercial spaceflight, called Galactic 01.
Axiom Space is a company that provides human spaceflight services and develops space infrastructure for humans. They also provide access to space for research, testing, and demonstrating new technologies in microgravity.
Axiom Space is based in Houston and was founded in 2016 by Kam Ghaffarian. Some of their investors include:
- Moelis Capital Partners
- C5 Capital
- Declaration Partners
- Hemisphere Ventures
- Starbridge Venture Capital
- The Venture Collective
- TQS Advisors
- Aidenlair Capital
Axiom Space has a contract with NASA to launch its first module, Axiom Hab One, to the ISS in 2026. The company plans to attach a total of four modules to the Axiom Commercial Segment, which will eventually become a free-flying commercial destination called Axiom Station.
Axiom Space also operates end-to-end missions to the ISS. Their first privately funded and operated crewed mission, Axiom Mission 1 (or Ax-1), launched on April 8, 2022 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Axiom Space has a contract with SpaceX to transport private astronauts to and from the International Space Station. Axiom also uses SpaceX to help astronauts become familiar with the Dragon spacecraft’s systems, procedures, and emergency preparedness
In late 2022, Axiom’s Mission Control Center became a certified ISS partner Mission Control Center, joining a small number of other International partner MCCs and SpaceX’s MCC
Axiom Space uses SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft for its missions. For example, the Ax-2 mission launched on May 21, 2023, using a Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft. The crew successfully docked with the International Space Station on May 22, 2023, and undocked eight days later
Axiom Space’s third mission, Ax-3, is scheduled for launch on January 9, 2024, using the same rocket and spacecraft
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