Axiom's First Private Crew Initiates Training At NASA To Visit The Space Station Aboard SpaceX Crew Dragon

Axiom, a space infrastructure developer from Houston, Texas, aims to own and operate the world's first commercial space station one day. To open a path towards space commercialization, Axiom signed a deal with SpaceX to launch a crew of four space tourists to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission is known as Ax-1, it will be the first entirely-private orbital space tour in history, scheduled to launch early next year. The Ax-1 crewmembers are: former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría, who will serve as Ax-1 mission commander; entrepreneur Larry Connor, Investor/philanthropist Mark Pathy, alongside Eytan Stibbe, who is a former Israeli Air Force pilot. They will liftoff atop SpaceX’s Falcon 9 aboard Crew Dragon to the Space Station where they will stay for around eight days.

NASA announced that the Axiom Ax-1 crew initiated training at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston. Axiom shared a photograph of López-Alegría training at the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility (pictured below). “Private astronauts of Axiom Space began learning about space station systems and procedures in preparation for their planned stay aboard the orbiting laboratory. The mission is scheduled for no earlier than January 2022,” NASA said in a press release. The agency said that the “private astronauts will receive a standard official review by NASA and its international partners and undergo NASA medical qualification testing before being approved for flight.”

“[…] López-Alegría visits NASA Johnson to begin preparing for his return to the station he commanded as a NASA astronaut in 2007 – this time, as a private citizen and commander of Ax-1,” Axiom said via Twitter, “As we open this new era of human life and work in space, our own Commander López-Alegría - will carve out a place as the first person to ever command both a civil spaceflight mission and a private one.”

The AX-1 mission will not only be a space tour, the crew will ‘participate in research and philanthropic projects’ while at the Space Station. Stibbe is tasked with conducting scientific experiments in microgravity for the Israel Space Agency at the Ministry of Science & Technology and the Ramon foundation, with the purpose to inspire and educate Israeli children and teachers. Pathy will perform scientific research regarding health in collaboration with the Canadian Space Agency, Mayo Clinic, and Cleveland Clinic. Connor will do some research projects in microgravity and intends to provide instructional lessons to students at Dayton Early College Academy in his hometown of Dayton, Ohio.

Axiom recently announced that former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson will serve as Ax-1’s backup commander, if for any reason López-Alegría cannot serve as commander during the first private space tour. Axiom also booked three more space tours with SpaceX. The company finalized the additional contracts to launch crewed flights for missions designated as: Ax-2, Ax-3, and Ax-4. “We are beyond excited to build upon our partnership with Axiom to help make human spaceflight more accessible for more people,” said SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell. The company has not revealed who will fly aboard the three missions, only that ‘Peggy Whitson and champion GT racer John Shoffner will serve as commander and pilot for the Ax-2 mission.’ 

As we open this new era of human life and work in space, our own @CommanderMLA will carve out a place as the first person to ever command both a civil spaceflight mission and a private one.

— Axiom Space (@Axiom_Space) August 17, 2021

All Images Source: Axiom & SpaceX