Decades ago, the idea of individuals traveling to the International Space Station was as much science fiction as time-traveling police stations. But now we have his crew of four civilian astronauts aboard the ISS in 2024. The team will spend approximately two weeks working on a variety of experiments, commercial activities, and outreach activities.
Axiom Space was founded in 2016 by Michael Suffredini and Kam Ghaffarian. Their goal is primarily to arrange commercial missions to space on the ISS, but they are also developing spacesuits for NASA’s future missions to the moon. In realizing these goals, the team at Axiom Space has a great dream: “We are on a mission to manifest it.” [space] To as many people as possible. ”
On January 18, four civilian astronauts were launched to the ISS on a Dragon spacecraft propelled by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. This civilian mission is the third such undertaking by Axiom Space, with the first mission flown in April 2022 and the second in May 2023. The mission’s crew consisted of Commander Michael López Alegría, Pilot Walter Villaday, and Mission Specialists Marcus Vandt and Alper. Gezheravci.
The crew arrived at the ISS on Saturday, January 20, and the Dragon module autonomously docked with the Harmony module. When the hatch opens, Axiom’s crew includes NASA astronauts Jasmine Moghberg and Loral O’Hara, ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and astronaut Konstantin Borisov. , cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chubut will be welcomed by the crew of the 70-day mission.
AX-3 (as the mission is called) is scheduled to depart from the ISS on Saturday, February 3, weather permitting. They will spend two weeks on board before returning to Earth, arriving wet off the coast of Florida.
Axiom Space’s partnership with NASA is producing great results, opening up low-Earth orbit to more people. The 1950s and his 1960s saw the Space Race, with America and Russia competing to be the first to reach space and land a man on the moon. Now, the landscape of space travel and exploration has changed. Partnerships between large space agencies like NASA and private companies like Axiom are driving a thriving commercial space economy and have the potential to open space to us all forever.
sauce : NASA, partners welcome commercial crew to space station
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