SpaceX and Axiom Space launch first fully-private crew mission to the ISS

David MaxwellApril 10, 2022

1 minute read

SpaceX and Axiom Space launch the first fully-private crew mission to the ISS, For those who can afford it, space tourism is swiftly becoming a popular activity.

While it may appear to be a pipe dream at the moment, these early flights may pave the path for lower pricing and allow ordinary people to experience it in the future.

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On Friday, Axiom Space and SpaceX successfully launched their first private crew mission. The four astronauts took off on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center.

They’ll be the first all-private human spaceflight expedition to the International Space Station when they arrive tomorrow.

Former NASA astronaut and flight commander Michael López-Alegra, American Larry Connor, founder of real estate investment firm Connor Group, Israeli Eytan Stibbe,

former fighter pilot and founder of investment fund Vital Capital, and Canadian Mark Pathy, CEO of investment and financing firm Mavrik make up the crew.

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For this journey, the private astronauts put through hundreds of hours of training, learning fundamental

protocols like how to use the food galley and how to maintain personal hygiene in microgravity.

They’ve also been given emergency reaction training in case something goes wrong on the International Space Station.
The crew will spend eight days on the US component of the International Space Station, completing over 25 different research experiments.

The three cosmonauts on board have also invited them to visit the Russian section of the station.

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They will next board the same Crew Dragon spacecraft that is presently transporting them to the International Space Station and land in the Atlantic Ocean. The three private astronauts spent a total of $55 million on their journey.

Axiom hopes to offer such crewed flights as often as twice per year after their initial trip. They also want to send modules into orbit that can attach to the ISS and be inhabited by private astronauts.

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