In a departure from traditional NASA missions, the funding for this venture comes from Axiom Space, a Houston-based company embarking on its third journey with paying passengers to the I.S.S. Axiom has partnered with SpaceX for transportation to and from the orbital laboratory. Axiom has ambitious plans to construct its own space station in orbit, utilizing these missions to aid in planning and design.
A previous attempt to launch the mission on Wednesday faced a last-minute cancellation. SpaceX and Axiom cited the need for additional time "to complete pre-launch checkouts and data analysis, including the parachute system energy modulator." The following day, SpaceX reported that "All systems are looking good for today's launch," Wit
hout providing further details.
The capsule is set to spend the next 36 hours racing to catch up with the I.S.S., orbiting approximately 250 miles above Earth. After docking, the crew, part of the Ax-3 mission, will spend two weeks on the orbital laboratory conducting around 30 experiments, including "microgravity research, technology demonstrations, and outreach engagements," according to Axiom.
The Ax-3 mission utilizes a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft named Freedom, which has previously flown in space twice, participating in Crew-4 in 2022 and Ax-2 in 2023. Freedom has accumulated a total of 179 days in space.
Leading the Ax-3 crew is Axiom's Chief Astronaut Michael López-Alegría, a dual U.S.-Spanish citizen, former NASA astronaut, and ISS commander. He will serve as the Ax-3 commander alongside three paying passengers: Pilot Walter Villadei of the Italian Air Force, and mission specialists Alper Gezeravcı of Turkey and Marcus Wandt of Sweden and the European Space Agency.
For Gezeravcı, the first Turkish astronaut in space, this spaceflight is more than a destination; it marks the beginning of a long and evolving journey into space. The Ax-3 crew will join seven other individuals currently aboard the I.S.S.
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