last night, The Axiom Space Mission with a civilian crew flew from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to the International Space Station. A crew of four, led by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, flew aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and docked at the ISS at around 9:12 am ET this morning. This is the second time Axiom has brought a paying customer to the ISS. Last year’s maiden flight was a milestone for space travel. This time around, we get a glimpse into the future of the space station itself.
The ISS has a short lifespan left. NASA has pledged to support the station until 2030, at which point it hopes to have the first components of its commercial successor in place. In 2021, the agency has assigned contracts to three companies, Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman and Nanoracks, to develop competing designs. In 2020, NASA signed another contract with Axiom to develop habitable modules for the ISS, followed by up to three modules. The first one is scheduled to launch in late 2025, and when NASA and its partners decommission the ISS and remove it from orbit, Axiom’s modules will disconnect and join together to form an independent space station.
But in the meantime, commercial passengers and experienced space agency astronauts will need to learn how to live and work side by side. Over time, as the number of visitors and the number of modules increases, the interaction between Axiom passengers and conventional astronauts will be reduced, especially as private customers essentially own hotel rooms in orbit. Subject to change. “These missions are very important to those of us as NASA seeks to extend space to a wider range of society. We will be participating and buying services from private industry,” NASA Deputy Administrator Ken Bauersox said at a joint press conference last week. People involved in Axiom and SpaceX.
The spaceflight is called “Ax-2” and carries three paying visitors for an eight-day stay. He would further build the record for the American who spent the most time. Space – 665 days. (Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka holds the world record for 878 days.) Other members of the quartet include American race car driver and businessman John Schofner and Saudi Air Force pilot Ali Alkarni, including biomedical researcher Rayana Barnawi. Alkarni and Barnawi were the first Saudis to visit the ISS, and Barnawi was also the first Saudi woman to stay in space. “I am very honored and happy to represent the dreams and hopes of the people of Saudi Arabia and all the women of our country,” Barnawi said at a press conference with the rest of the crew.
The Saudi government pays for their tickets, and Shofner pays for his own. Axiom declined to disclose exact ticket prices for the flight, but the coveted seats on the Ax-1 in 2022 cost $55 million each.
Barnawi and Al-Khani aboard Ax-2 would be a major success for the Saudi Space Commission’s manned spaceflight program, which the Saudi government established in December 2018. Saudi Arabia has recently increased its involvement in space activities, including participation in the US-led space program. The Artemis Accords and the launch of a small number of communications satellites.
