ORLANDO, Fla., January 29 (UPI) – The first private crew, consisting of four astronauts, plans to fly to the International Space Station in January 2022 on a SpaceX mission organized by Houston-based company Axiom Space.
Former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría, vice president at Axiom, would be a flight commander. Ohio Larry Connor, an entrepreneur of real estate and financial technology, who has flown fighter jets, would be a mission pilot, Axiom said.
The company has secured the mission with space company Elon Musk in a Crew Dragon capsule launched from Florida with a Falcon 9 rocket.
Connor and two businessmen, one Canadian and one Israeli, have agreed to pay Axoim $ 55 million for their experience. The company declined to say whether the tickets have already been paid in full, or whether the tours have made investments. Axiom’s financial settlement with SpaceX was also not disclosed.
The three men are lining research projects and educational programs to return to Earth during the mission, according to Axiom communications manager Beau Holder.
Connor plans to collaborate with the Mayo Clinic and the Cleveland Clinic on medical research, while providing lessons to students at Dayton Early College Academy in his hometown of Dayton, Ohio.
Pathy plans to collaborate with the Canadian Space Agency and Montreal Children’s Hospital on health-related projects, while Stibbe plans to conduct experiments for Israeli researchers and entrepreneurs coordinated by Ramon Foundation and Israeli Space Agency, along with educational outreach to Israeli students.
Axiom is backed by NASA as the company builds a fan of the International Space Station, but much is unknown about the flight.
Axiom has agreements with NASA to connect private segments to the space station starting in 2024. After the orbiting platform goes out of business – around 2030 – Axiom plans to separate its units from station and fly independently.
Former NASA astronaut Jim Bridenstine, who retired January 20, was a strong supporter of commercial space missions. The group is currently led by acting administrator Steve Jurczyk, but a new position is expected soon.
“We see no reason why NASA’s strong commitment to nurturing a commercial market in Earth’s low orbit will change,” the Axion Guardian said in a statement to UPI.
Axiom Space and NASA are working together on a formal arrangement to foster private astronaut missions, including a planned January 2022 mission, called Ax-1, Holder said.
A lot of detail needs to be leaked out before a modern space mission can happen, said John Spencer, a space architect and president of the Los Angeles-based nonprofit Space Tourism Association.
“The mission will set many deserts, and no one wants to set a desert that you can’t live with in the future,” Spencer said.
An example of such information is the limited number of sleeper stations on board the space station, Spencer said.
“That’s not a disappointment but they had to work something out, even if they were only sleeping aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule,” Spencer said.
The space station only has six sleeping stations, not enough for the seven astronauts currently on board. NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins has been sleeping aboard the Dragon Resilience capsule, in which he entered the station in November.
The space station has previously hosted private citizens, but not in recent years, as there were few crew flights after the space shuttle program ended in 2011. Businessman Charles visited Simonyi last in 2007 and 2009.
NASA has announced that actor Tom Cruise will be shooting a film aboard the space station after a private flight, but no date has been set for that mission.
Axiom ‘s mission lasted as expected to last about eight days, Axiom said in a press release announcing the flight.
López-Alegría, which flew into space four times over NASA’s 20-year lifespan, is the first person to lead both a civilian and commercial human space mission, Axiom noted.
Space travelers have previously flown to the space station aboard Russian Soyuz capsules, but only as astronauts on NASA’s official missions.
“Some of the former private astronauts had designations and they did work up there. We haven’t heard yet what this team will do,” Spencer said. “It will be a learning experience for everyone.”
Retired NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, who was also NASA’s chief scientist, is listed as a backup commander for the Axiom mission.
Passengers must spend 15 weeks training after physical, according to Axiom’s mission description.
Many people in space-related research are hoping Axiom’s mission will usher in a new era of extended spaceflight for private citizens, said Nancy Vermeulen, a geologist, pilot and founder of the Space-based Space Training Academy Belgium.
Private citizens flying on such missions are not a safety threat, Vermeulen said, especially since SpaceX has moved its Dragon capsules to the space station multiple times on autopilot.
“This is a short-term mission, eight days against six months that many astronauts spend in space,” she said.
NASA, SpaceX launches historic mission to space station
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with Crew-1 builds from Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday. Photo by Pat Benic / UPI License photo
