posted 03-06-2020 11:31 AM
Interesting. Space is very limited on the ISS, not sure how NASA and its partners on the ISS will feel about four extra tourists (or maybe scientists?) on board for 8 days.
I guess this would be the precursor to a commercial space station being built? Showing the viability of multiple crews aboard a station.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 45030 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 03-06-2020 11:34 AM
There is plenty of room for short stays of 10 or more people aboard the space station. During shuttle missions, there were upwards of 13 people aboard the station for a week or more (seven shuttle crew members and six ISS expedition members).
quote:Originally posted by denali414: I guess this would be the precursor to a commercial space station being built?
As noted in Axiom's release:
Axiom plans to offer professional and private astronaut flights to ISS at a rate of up to two per year to align with flight opportunities as they are made available by NASA, while simultaneously constructing its own privately funded space station.
NASA recently selected Axiom's proposal to attach its space station modules to the ISS beginning in the second half of 2024, ultimately creating a new 'Axiom Segment' which will expand the station's usable and habitable volume. When the ISS reaches its retirement date, the Axiom complex will detach and operate as a free-flying commercial space station.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 45030 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
On the planned Axiom flight, one seat would be occupied by a company-trained astronaut who would serve as the flight commander. The other three seats will be for customers who are to spend 10 days in orbit floating inside the space station. The Axiom astronaut would also oversee the space tourists while they were on the station, making sure that they did not interfere with the six crew members.
Mr. Suffredini said that the space station, with as much interior room as a Boeing 747 jetliner, should have enough room for everyone.
He declined to talk about the cost, but in the past, Axiom has confirmed that a seat on the trip will cost $55 million, and it has already signed up one person.
denali414 Member
Posts: 709 From: Raleigh, NC Registered: Aug 2017
posted 03-08-2020 10:00 AM
It is always interesting to see what happens when top Alpha males (and females) are stuck in a confined space and told what they can and cannot do for 10 days and for once not be in charge. Hope the psychological testing and training before any mission is real rigorous and money does not get in the way of safety.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 45030 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 06-30-2020 12:09 PM
Axiom video release
There are moments that permanently alter the trajectory of your life.
We can’t tell you how your time spent in space will change you, but we know it will be profound, and propel you to make more meaningful contributions back on Earth.
Axiom Space is planning to launch the first-ever fully private mission to the International Space Station in late 2021 on a SpaceX Crew Dragon, with further missions for both national and private astronauts at a rate of approximately two per year.
All this as a prologue to building and operating the world's first commercial space station, to ensure a brighter future for everyone on Earth and set our course for life beyond it.
Our vision is a thriving home in space that benefits every human, everywhere.
Headshot Member
Posts: 958 From: Vancouver, WA, USA Registered: Feb 2012
posted 06-30-2020 06:38 PM
If the Axiom module is not equipped with its own human waste management system, there might be problems. Letting tourists in is one thing, sharing your toilet/toilet time with a bunch of strangers is a whole different ball of wax.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 45030 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 11-11-2020 03:00 PM
From Axiom Space (via Twitter):
A multinational crew composed of three private astronauts and Michael Lopez-Alegria have now officially signed with Axiom.
In other words: the first private crew to go to orbit in human history – the crew of Ax-1 – has been assembled.
Mission launches NET late 2021. More details soon.
(And for anyone who might be curious, adjusting the exposure of the above photo reveals the three silhouettes are of the same stock photo model, so it offers no clues to L-A's AX-1 crewmates.)
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 45030 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 11-15-2020 07:49 PM
From Michael Lopez-Alegria (via Twitter), Ax-1 will use Dragon "Resilience," which launched today (Nov. 15) with Crew-1 to the space station.
God willin' and the creek don't rise, I'll be leading the Ax-1 crew on the first purely commercial orbital mission in history a little over a year from now — on this very SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. It's gonna be a blast!
RobertB Member
Posts: 191 From: Israel Registered: Nov 2012
posted 11-16-2020 05:21 AM
Israeli Eytan Stibbe has announced that he'll be flying on this flight too.
"Next year, I will have the opportunity to participate in a mission to the International Space Station – a fascinating mission to science, education and the exploration of human nature," Stibbe said.
posted 03-06-2020 11:30 AM
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