Photo: Axiom
In just a few short years, space exploration as we know it changed radically. It went from being an affair reserved exclusively for well-trained astronauts flying pieces of hardware in a bigger or a smaller measure backed by some sort of government organization, to being open to pretty much anyone who can afford it, flying exclusively private spaceships.
And we’re not talking here only about the timid trips to the edge of space performed by Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin. We’re referring to what may be considered the first true outings of civilians into outer space, as part of the SpaceX Inspiration4 and Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1).
Whereas Inspiration4 was an exclusive SpaceX affair that had a four-person crew orbit the planet inside a Crew Dragon spaceship for three days, Ax-1, also using a Crew Dragon, took a crew of four people to the International Space Station (ISS), where they spent 17 days.
It’s obvious now more such missions will follow, and they’ll all start later this spring with the launch of the Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2). It too will have four people reach the ISS for a 10-day stay filled with “science, outreach, and commercial activities.“
This week, NASA and the international operators of the ISS gave the thumbs up to the Ax-2 crew, meaning there are no objections to the names on the list and they all seem to have been trained properly.
As the second-ever private mission to the ISS, Ax-1 comes with a series of first. For one, for the first time ever, two astronauts from a country that’s never had a proper space exploration program will make it up there: Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi are from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), and they’ll both act as mission specialists.
The third member of the team, and the pilot of the mission, is John Shoffner, a businessman and owner of GT3 team J2-Racing.
Last but not least, Ax-2 mission’s commander is Peggy Whitson. Currently Axiom Space’s Director of Human Spaceflight, Watson is a former NASA astronaut with quite a few accomplishments under her belt. She was the first woman to take command of the ISS twice (2017), held for a while the record for longest single spaceflight by a woman (289 days, beaten by Christina Koch with her 328-day stay in space), and still holds the overall record for most days spent up there by a woman, an impressive 665 days.
Whitson, who is now 63, will write history with Ax-2 as well, becoming the first female commander of a private space mission. A historic mission, given how it’ll also be the first such endeavor performed by a crew mixing private astronauts and representatives of foreign governments.
No exact date for the flight is yet known, but we do know the mission will lift off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will carry a Crew Dragon spacecraft to space.
Whereas Inspiration4 was an exclusive SpaceX affair that had a four-person crew orbit the planet inside a Crew Dragon spaceship for three days, Ax-1, also using a Crew Dragon, took a crew of four people to the International Space Station (ISS), where they spent 17 days.
It’s obvious now more such missions will follow, and they’ll all start later this spring with the launch of the Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2). It too will have four people reach the ISS for a 10-day stay filled with “science, outreach, and commercial activities.“
This week, NASA and the international operators of the ISS gave the thumbs up to the Ax-2 crew, meaning there are no objections to the names on the list and they all seem to have been trained properly.
As the second-ever private mission to the ISS, Ax-1 comes with a series of first. For one, for the first time ever, two astronauts from a country that’s never had a proper space exploration program will make it up there: Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi are from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), and they’ll both act as mission specialists.
The third member of the team, and the pilot of the mission, is John Shoffner, a businessman and owner of GT3 team J2-Racing.
Last but not least, Ax-2 mission’s commander is Peggy Whitson. Currently Axiom Space’s Director of Human Spaceflight, Watson is a former NASA astronaut with quite a few accomplishments under her belt. She was the first woman to take command of the ISS twice (2017), held for a while the record for longest single spaceflight by a woman (289 days, beaten by Christina Koch with her 328-day stay in space), and still holds the overall record for most days spent up there by a woman, an impressive 665 days.
Whitson, who is now 63, will write history with Ax-2 as well, becoming the first female commander of a private space mission. A historic mission, given how it’ll also be the first such endeavor performed by a crew mixing private astronauts and representatives of foreign governments.
No exact date for the flight is yet known, but we do know the mission will lift off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will carry a Crew Dragon spacecraft to space.
Google News