Axiom Mission 1

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Axiom Mission 1
SpaceX Axiom 1 docking (cropped).jpg
Ax-1 approaching the ISS
NamesAx-1
Mission type Private spaceflight to the ISS
Operator
COSPAR ID 2022-037A OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
SATCAT no. 52204 OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Website axiomspace.com/ax1
Mission duration17 days, 1 hour, 48 minutes
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftCrew Dragon  Endeavour
Spacecraft type Crew Dragon
ManufacturerSpaceX
Launch mass12,519 kg (27,600 lb)
Landing mass9,616 kg (21,200 lb)
Crew
Crew size4
Members
Start of mission
Launch date8 April 2022, 15:17:12 (8 April 2022, 15:17:12)  UTC (11:17:12 am  EDT) [1]
Rocket Falcon 9 Block 5 (B1062.5)
Launch site Kennedy, LC‑39A
ContractorSpaceX
End of mission
Recovered by MV Megan
Landing date25 April 2022, 17:06 (25 April 2022, 17:06) UTC [2]
Landing site Atlantic Ocean
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric orbit
Regime Low Earth orbit
Inclination 51.66°
Docking with ISS
Docking port Harmony zenith
Docking date9 April 2022, 12:29 UTC
Undocking date25 April 2022, 01:10 UTC
Time docked15 days, 12 hours, 41 minutes
Axiom Mission 1.png
Axiom Mission 1 patch
Axiom Crew Portrait.jpg
Clockwise from left: Connor, Stibbe, Pathy and López-Alegría

Axiom Mission 1 (or Ax-1) [3] was a privately-funded and operated crewed mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission was operated by Axiom Space out of Axiom's Mission Control Center MCC-A [4] in Houston, Texas. The flight launched on 8 April 2022 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. [5] The spacecraft used was a SpaceX Crew Dragon. The crew consisted of Michael López-Alegría, [6] an American born in Spain and a professionally trained astronaut hired by Axiom, Eytan Stibbe [7] from Israel, [8] Larry Connor from the United States, [8] and Mark Pathy from Canada. [8]

Contents

Background

Axiom Space was founded in 2016 with the goal of creating the world's first commercial space station. In early 2020, NASA announced that Axiom had been granted access to the forward port of the ISS' Harmony module, to which Axiom plans to berth the first node of the Axiom Orbital Segment; a complex that could grow to five pressurized modules after 2024 with a large observation window – similar to the current Cupola mounted on the Nadir side of Tranquility . This new addition to the ISS will be able to facilitate the company's activities in low Earth orbit. [9] Prior to the first module's launch as early as 2024, Axiom planned to organize and fly crewed missions to the ISS, consisting of either paying private astronauts or astronauts from public agencies or private organizations. [10] In March 2020, Axiom announced they would charter a flight to the ISS with SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft as early as late 2021. [11] This mission is the first wholly commercially-operated crewed mission to the ISS, and one of the first dedicated orbital private crew missions, alongside Roscosmos' Soyuz MS-20 mission in December 2021. [12] Following their first flight, Axiom plans to offer crewed flights to the ISS as often as twice per year, "aligning with the flight opportunities as they are made available by NASA". [13]

Crew

Michael López-Alegría was chosen as a commercial astronaut. [6] The other three seats were reserved for space tourists, announced to cost US$55 million each. [14]

Following the launch of Crew Dragon Demo-2 in May 2020, the first crewed test flight of Dragon 2, Axiom CEO Michael Suffredini said that they planned to announce the names of the crew in "a month or so"; [15] Ars Technica reported that the full crew complement would "probably be unveiled in January 2021". [16] On 26 January 2021, Axiom revealed the full crew of the mission, consisting of Michael López-Alegría, Larry Connor, Mark Pathy and Eytan Stibbe. [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] They also announced Peggy Whitson as the backup commander for the mission and John Shoffner as backup pilot. [22] [23] Eytan Stibbe's backup was his daughter Dr. Shir Stibbe. [24] Michael Lopez-Alegria is a former NASA astronaut and Axiom Space VP. [25] John Shoffner is an airshow pilot and entrepreneur, and not an Axiom employee nor a government trained astronaut. [18] Peggy Whitson is a former NASA astronaut and Axiom consultant. [25]

It was reported that actor Tom Cruise and film producer Doug Liman would be passengers for a movie project, [26] but it was later announced that they would fly on a subsequent flight. [27]

Prime crew
Position Astronaut
Commander Flag of the United States.svg  /  Flag of Spain.svg Michael López-Alegría, Axiom Space
Fifth spaceflight
Pilot Flag of the United States.svg Larry Connor
First spaceflight
Space tourist
Mission Specialist 1 Flag of Israel.svg Eytan Stibbe
First spaceflight
Space tourist
Mission Specialist 2 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Mark Pathy
First spaceflight
Space tourist
Backup crew
Position Astronaut
Commander Flag of the United States.svg Peggy Whitson, Axiom Space
Pilot Flag of the United States.svg John Shoffner
Space tourist
Mission Specialist 1 Flag of Israel.svg Shir Stibbe
Space tourist

Mission

The mission launched at 11:17 EDT on 8 April 2022. [5] It launched atop a Falcon 9 Block 5 launch vehicle from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A), a NASA-owned launch pad leased to SpaceX for Falcon 9 launches. The mission was flown aboard Crew Dragon Endeavour, which previously supported the Crew Dragon Demo-2 and SpaceX Crew-2 missions. [28] From there the spacecraft spent less than a day in transit to the station and dock with Harmony, where they were planned to spend ten days aboard the International Space Station (ISS). [29] Following their time on the ISS, the spacecraft undocked with plans to return to Earth via a splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean. Bad weather in the landing zone delayed the return, [30] as result the crew spent 16 days docked to the ISS for a total of 17 days in orbit. [2]

It was revealed that the "zero-g indicator" aboard the first private mission to visit the International Space Station was a toy dog called Caramel, the mascot for the Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation. [31]

During their days aboard the ISS, the private crew conducted more than 25 different research experiments. [32]

The Israeli mission segment is called Rakia, which means "sky" in Hebrew and is also the title of the book published with Ilan Ramon's diary fragments that survived the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. [33]

Connor also carried aboard three items on behalf of the Armstrong Air & Space Museum. With Connor being an Ohio-native, the items included a John Glenn senatorial campaign button, a patch of the Armstrong Air & Space Museum, and a piece of Kapton foil removed from the Apollo 11 Command Module after splashdown. [34]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael López-Alegría</span> Spanish-American astronaut (born 1958)

Michael López-Alegría is an astronaut, test pilot and commercial astronaut with dual nationality, American and Spanish; a veteran of three Space Shuttle missions and one International Space Station mission. He is known for having performed ten spacewalks so far in his career, presently holding the second longest all-time EVA duration record and having the fifth-longest spaceflight of any American at the length of 215 days; this time was spent on board the ISS from September 18, 2006, to April 21, 2007. López-Alegría commanded Axiom-1, the first ever all-private team of commercial astronaut mission to the International Space Station, which launched on April 8, 2022, and spent just over 17 days in Earth's orbit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peggy Whitson</span> American astronaut and biochemistry researcher (born 1960)

Peggy Annette Whitson is an American biochemistry researcher, and astronaut working for Axiom Space. She retired from NASA in 2018, after serving as Chief Astronaut. Over all her missions, Whitson has a total of 665 days in space, more than any other American or woman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Space Station programme</span> Ongoing space research program

The International Space Station programme is tied together by a complex set of legal, political and financial agreements between the fifteen nations involved in the project, governing ownership of the various components, rights to crewing and utilisation, and responsibilities for crew rotation and resupply of the International Space Station. It was conceived in September 1993 by the United States and Russia after 1980s plans for separate American (Freedom) and Soviet (Mir-2) space stations failed due to budgetary reasons. These agreements tie together the five space agencies and their respective International Space Station programmes and govern how they interact with each other on a daily basis to maintain station operations, from traffic control of spacecraft to and from the station, to utilisation of space and crew time. In March 2010, the International Space Station Program Managers from each of the five partner agencies were presented with Aviation Week's Laureate Award in the Space category, and the ISS programme was awarded the 2009 Collier Trophy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SpaceX Dragon 2</span> 2020s class of partially reusable spacecraft

Dragon 2 is a class of partially reusable spacecraft developed, manufactured, and operated by American space company SpaceX for flights to the International Space Station (ISS) and private spaceflight missions. There are two variants of the Dragon spacecraft: Crew Dragon, capable of ferrying four crewmembers, and Cargo Dragon, a replacement for the original Dragon 1 used to carry freight to and from space. The spacecraft consists of a reusable space capsule and an expendable trunk module. The spacecraft launches atop a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket, and the capsule returns to Earth through splashdown. It has proven to be the most cost-effective spacecraft in history to be used by NASA.

Axiom Space, Inc., also known as Axiom Space, is an American privately funded space infrastructure developer headquartered in Houston, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soyuz MS-20</span> 2021 Russian crewed spaceflight to the ISS

Soyuz MS-20 was a Russian Soyuz spaceflight to the International Space Station (ISS) on 8–20 December 2021. Unlike previous Soyuz flights to the ISS, Soyuz MS-20 did not deliver any crew members for an ISS Expedition or serve as a lifeboat for any crew members on board the station. Instead, it was commanded by a single professional cosmonaut and carried two space tourists represented by company Space Adventures, which had executed eight space tourism missions to the ISS in 2001–9. The flight to reach the ISS took six hours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commercial Crew Program</span> NASA human spaceflight program for the International Space Station

The Commercial Crew Program (CCP) provides commercially operated crew transportation service to and from the International Space Station (ISS) under contract to NASA, conducting crew rotations between the expeditions of the International Space Station program. American space manufacturer SpaceX began providing service in 2020, using the Crew Dragon spacecraft, and NASA plans to add Boeing when its Boeing Starliner spacecraft becomes operational no earlier than 2025. NASA has contracted for six operational missions from Boeing and fourteen from SpaceX, ensuring sufficient support for ISS through 2030.

Crew Dragon <i>Endeavour</i> SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft

Crew Dragon Endeavour is the first operational Crew Dragon reusable spacecraft manufactured and operated by SpaceX. It first launched on 30 May 2020 to the International Space Station (ISS) on the Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission. It has subsequently been used for the SpaceX Crew-2 mission that launched in April 2021, the private Axiom Mission 1 that launched in April 2022, and the SpaceX Crew-6 mission that launched in March 2023. It is currently in orbit after launching the SpaceX Crew-8 mission in March 2024. The capsule was named after Space ShuttleEndeavour. As of August 2024, Endeavour holds the record for the record for the most time in orbit by a crewed spacecraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Axiom Orbital Segment</span> Planned ISS component

Axiom Orbital Segment or Axiom Segment are the planned modular components of the International Space Station (ISS) designed by Houston, Texas-based Axiom Space for commercial space activities. Axiom Space gained initial NASA approval for the venture in January 2020. Axiom Space was later awarded the contract by NASA on February 28, 2020. This orbital station will be separated from the ISS to become a modular space station, Axiom Station, after the ISS is decommissioned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eytan Stibbe</span> Israeli fighter pilot, businessman and astronaut (born 1958)

Eytan Meir Stibbe is an Israeli former fighter pilot, businessman and commercial astronaut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Pathy</span> Canadian astronaut, businessman and philanthropist (born 1969)

Mark Pathy is a Canadian businessman, philanthropist and commercial astronaut. He is the CEO of Mavrik, a privately owned Canadian investment company. He is also the chairman of Stingray Group and the former co-CEO of Fednav, a private shipping company co-founded by his great-uncle, Ernest Pathy, who was an immigrant from Hungary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SpaceX Crew-4</span> 2022 American crewed spaceflight to the ISS and maiden flight of Crew Dragon Freedom

SpaceX Crew-4 was the Crew Dragon's fourth NASA Commercial Crew operational flight, and its seventh overall crewed orbital flight. The mission launched on 27 April 2022 at 07:52 UTC before docking with the International Space Station (ISS) at 23:37 UTC. It followed shortly after the private Axiom 1 mission to the ISS earlier in the month utilizing SpaceX hardware. Three American (NASA) astronauts and one European (ESA) astronaut were on board the mission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Axiom Mission 2</span> 2023 private crewed spaceflight to the ISS

Axiom Mission 2 was a private crewed spaceflight operated by Axiom Space. Ax-2 was launched on 21 May 2023 on a SpaceX Falcon 9, successfully docking with the International Space Station (ISS) on 22 May. After eight days docked to the ISS, the Dragon crew capsule Freedom undocked and returned to Earth twelve hours later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SpaceX Crew-6</span> 2023 American crewed spaceflight to the ISS

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Crew Dragon <i>Freedom</i> SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft

Crew Dragon Freedom is the fourth operational Crew Dragon reusable spacecraft manufactured and operated by SpaceX. It first launched on 27 April 2022 to the International Space Station (ISS) on the SpaceX Crew-4 mission. It has subsequently been used for Axiom Mission 2 in May 2023 and Axiom Mission 3 in January 2024, two private spaceflight missions to the ISS operated by Axiom Space. It is scheduled to operate the SpaceX Crew-9 mission in September 2024. The capsule was named after the fundamental human right of freedom and the Freedom 7 capsule that took astronaut Alan Shepard on the first human spaceflight from the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Axiom Mission 3</span> 2024 private crewed spaceflight to the ISS

Axiom Mission 3 was a private spaceflight to the International Space Station. The flight launched on 18 January 2024, and lasted for 21 days, successfully splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean. It was operated by Axiom Space and used a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. The booster, B1080, had previously flown Axiom-2, among other high-profile missions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Axiom Mission 4</span> Private crewed spaceflight to the International Space Station in 2025

Axiom Mission 4 is a private spaceflight to the International Space Station. The flight will be launched no earlier than Spring 2025 and will last 14 days. It will be operated by Axiom Space and use a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Expedition 70</span> Long-duration mission to the International Space Station

Expedition 70 was the 70th long-duration expedition to the International Space Station. The expedition began with the departure of Soyuz MS-23 on 27 September 2023 with Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen taking over the ISS command. It ended with the departure of Soyuz MS-24 on 6 April 2024.

References

  1. ↑ "Ax-1 now targeting April 8th launch". 3 April 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Ax-1 crew returns safely to Earth, successfully completing first all-private astronaut mission to ISS". 25 April 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  3. ↑ "NASA, Axiom Agree to First Private Astronaut Mission on Space Station". NASA. 10 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  4. ↑ "Axiom Space's Mission Control Center Ready to Support Upcoming Ax-1 Mission to International Space Station". Axiom Space. 29 March 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  5. 1 2 "NASA Launch Schedule". NASA . 28 March 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  6. 1 2 Irene Klotz [@Free_Space] (18 September 2020). "SpaNSFce Hero mission is about 4th on @Axiom_Space manifest, Mike Suffredini tells @AviationWeek. First up in October '21 is flight of 3 private individuals and former @NASA_Astronauts Mike Lopez-Algeria" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  7. ↑ "Israel's second astronaut to blast off to space in 2021". 16 November 2020.
  8. 1 2 3 Robert Z. Pearlman (26 January 2021). "Axiom Space Names First Private Crew to Visit Space Station". Scientific American. Scientific American.
  9. ↑ "Axiom selected by NASA for access to International Space Station port". Axiom Space. 27 January 2020.
  10. ↑ "Axiom Space - National Astronaut Missions". Axiom Space.
  11. ↑ Ralph, Eric (9 March 2020). "SpaceX space tourism ambitions made real with Crew Dragon's first private contract". Teslarati.
  12. ↑ "Roscosmos signs new contract on flight of two space tourists to ISS". TASS. 19 February 2019.
  13. ↑ "Axiom Space plans first-ever fully private human spaceflight mission to International Space Station". Axiom Space. 5 March 2020.
  14. ↑ Chang, Kenneth (5 March 2020). "There Are 2 Seats Left for This Trip to the International Space Station". The New York Times.
  15. ↑ Sheetz, Michael [@thesheetztweetz] (3 June 2020). "Axiom Space CEO Mike Suffredini said his company's private trip to the ISS with SpaceX is scheduled for October 2021, so Demo-2 helped "our customers know that it's going to be real". Axiom plans to announce the 3 passengers in a month or so. https://t.co/31f2YNI2gO" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2021– via Twitter.
  16. ↑ Berger, Eric (5 January 2021). "There are an insane amount of cool space things happening in 2021". arstechnica.com. Ars Technica. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  17. ↑ Davenport, Christian (26 January 2021). "Meet the people paying US$55 million each to fly to the space station". The Washington Post. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  18. 1 2 "Axiom Space names first private crew to launch to space station". collectSPACE. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  19. ↑ Dunn, Marcia (26 January 2021). "1st private space crew paying US$55 million each to fly to station". AP News.
  20. ↑ Axiom Space [@Axiom_Space] (26 January 2021). "The first private ISS crew in the history of humankind has been assembled. Commander Michael López-Alegría, Mission Pilot Larry Connor, Mission Specialist Mark Pathy, Mission Specialist Eytan Stibbe, Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1): The start of a new era" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  21. ↑ Sheetz, Michael (26 January 2021). "Axiom Space unveils two investors will fly on the first fully-private SpaceX crew mission to the ISS". CNBC. Archived from the original on 2 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  22. ↑ Axiom Space [@Axiom_Space] (26 January 2021). "Ax-1 backup commander @AstroPeggy" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  23. ↑ Griffin, Andrew (26 January 2021). "Axiom Space revela la primera tripulación comercial que viajará a la Estación Espacial Internacional". The Independent. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  24. ↑ Rimon, Ran (5 April 2022). "Israeli astronaut awaits launch for 10-day stay at International Space Station". Ynetnews.
  25. 1 2 "What would you ask an astronaut, given the chance?". Axiom Space. 8 October 2020.
  26. ↑ "Tom Cruise is officially going to space for his next movie". 22 September 2020.
  27. ↑ Cohen, Li (11 October 2022). "Tom Cruise plans to film a movie in space — and could be the first civilian to do a spacewalk". CBS News. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  28. ↑ Margetta, Robert (2 February 2022). "NASA, Space Station Partners Approve First Axiom Mission Astronauts". NASA. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  29. ↑ Kelly, Emre (5 March 2020). "Axiom signs contract with SpaceX to fly Crew Dragon on first fully private ISS mission". Florida Today.
  30. ↑ "Ax-1 Crew Update: Flight Day 12, Undocking delayed". 19 April 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  31. ↑ "Hospital mascot, not Disney rabbit, floats on Axiom-1 mission as zero-g indicator". collectSPACE.com. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  32. ↑ "Axiom Space Ax-1 mission to expand health, technology researchers' access to ISS". Axiom Space. 17 March 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  33. ↑ New Details Emerge About Israeli Astronaut's Upcoming Space Mission
  34. ↑ "Axiom-1 mission all-private crew to make and carry history on space station".
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