American company Axiom has ushered in a new era in space travel. The AX-1, the first fully private spaceflight mission to the space station, was airlifted to its destination. Axiom Space-1 was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 11.17am local time on Friday aboard the Falcon 9 rocket aboard the SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft. The spacecraft arrived at the space station on Saturday following a 21-hour journey.
None of the four crew members of the AX-1 are government astronauts. It is also the first fully-fledged private crude mission to be launched into space. Commander Michael Lopez Alegria, pilot Larry Connor, mission specialists Ethan Stieb and Mark Pathi set off for the space station.
The journey is for 10 days. It will spend eight days on the International Space Station. They will carry out various research missions in a short span of time. The AX-1’s Space X Dragon capsule was airlifted to the space station at 7.45am on Saturday in conjunction with the space station.
“We designed this mission following a year and a half or so of hard work,” said Derek Hasman, director of operations at Axiom Space. Passenger Connor is a real estate entrepreneur and pilot who has flown 16 different aircraft. Pathi is the CEO and Chairman of Marvik, a Canadian fixed investment company. However, Stib is a founding partner of the Vital Capital Impact Investment Fund. Stibe was also the fighter pilot of the Israeli Air Force (IAF), and will be the second Israeli person to reach space.
Commander Lopez-Alegria did not pay for this mission. And helps guide other crew members. Each of the other three is estimated to have spent regarding $ 55 million on the seat.
English Summary: SpaceX launches Ax-1, the 1st fully private astronaut mission to the space station