Meet four civilians set to become first private astronauts to stay, work on Space Station
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Loading... - Ishan Arya
- 04 Apr 2022
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The International Space Station, which has remained home to astronauts, cosmonauts, and lately some tourists, is set to welcome a new crew -- private astronauts. Four civilians will lift off on a SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket on Friday to become the first private astronauts to live and work on the Space Station as Nasa pushes for commercialisation of the flying laboratory.
The first private astronaut mission, Axiom Space-1 (Ax-1) will launch at 11:17 a.m. EDT from Kennedy Space Center in Florida with four astronauts from three different countries commanded by a former Nasa astronaut. Astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria will command the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour as it leaves for the flying outpost with Pilot Larry Connor and Mission Specialists Eytan Stibbe and Mark Pathy.
The AX-1 mission will dock with the Harmony module’s space-facing port a day later in microgravity. The launch was initially scheduled for Wednesday. An Axiom spokesperson said that the delay would give SpaceX more time to complete pre-launch processing work.
WHO ARE THE FIRST PRIVATE ASTRONAUTS?
Lopez-Alegria, 63, is the Spanish-born mission commander and Axiom's vice president of business development. He is set to be joined by Larry Connor, a real estate and technology entrepreneur and aerobatics aviator from Ohio designated as the mission pilot. Connor is in his 70s but the company did not provide his precise age.
Rounding out the Ax-1 team are investor-philanthropist and former Israeli fighter pilot Eytan Stibbe, 64, and Canadian businessman and philanthropist Mark Pathy, 52, both serving as mission specialists. Read More...
