Axiom’s private mission to the International Space Station is ready to launch. The launch is scheduled to take place on April 6. The flight will last 10 days, 8 of which the Crew Dragon will spend docked to the ISS.
First private mission to the ISS
Axiom Space is preparing to launch the first private flight to the International Space Station (ISS) on April 6. The Ax-1 mission will use the Crew Dragon spacecraft and will last 10 days. The spacecraft will spend 8 of them in the state docked to the “orbital house”.
Axiom Space officials assure that everything is ready for the flight. Static tests of the Falcon 9 rocket are scheduled for April 4. If they are carried out successfully, then in two days the rocket will launch. If this does not happen, then the possibility of holding it remains until April 8.
The crew of the spacecraft consists of four people. It is headed by Michael Lopez-Alegria, a former NASA astronaut who is now an employee of Axiom. The other three — Larry Connor, Michael Patti and Eytan Stibbe — are clients of the company.
Not space tourism
At a press conference that took place on the eve of preparations for the launch, it was noted that this mission is not a publicity stunt, but really a step towards commercial space exploration. Both the representatives of Axiom and the astronauts themselves stressed once again that they are not space tourists.
All crew members have been trained for a duration of 750-1000 hours, while a space tourist usually receives no more than 10 hours of training. In addition, they will conduct at least 25 experiments on board the ISS.
Private astronauts will live in the American module of the ISS. The same situation will continue in the next flights, at least until 2024. Then they plan to dock a commercial element to the station, which is currently being built by Axiom.
According to Spacenews.com
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