A SpaceX Crew Dragon safely delivered four private astronauts — unrelated to any space service — to the International Space Station last Saturday. With the Axiom crew now on board, the first all-private mission to the ISS can begin. The SpaceX Endeavor capsule arrived at the ISS at 8:20 a.m. EDT on Saturday, April 9, after a journey of almost 21 hours. The Ax-1 crew – Michael López-Alegría, Larry Connor, Eytan Stibbe and Mark Pathy – were launched over a Falcon 9 rocket on Thursday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The ISS is currently in orbit at an altitude of 260 miles (418 km) above the Earth. The connection would have happened 45 minutes earlier if there had not been a problem with the ISS crew members who could not receive video from Crew Dragon’s main camera. Ground controllers fixed the problem by launching videos from a SpaceX ground station, according to NASA. The Dragon Endeavor Crew docked at the ISS. Image: Axiom Space The four crew members will remain on the orbital outpost for eight days, conducting about 25 experiments involving science, education and business. Axiom Space aims to build the world’s first fully commercial space station, which will begin construction on the ISS in late 2024. The Ax-1 mission represents an important milestone in the ongoing commercialization of Earth’s low orbit. G / O Media may receive a commission Save $ 10 Fire TV Stick 4K Max Stream your favorites Easier The Fire TV Stick 4K Max can be used to access all your favorite streaming services with crystal clear 4K graphics, can be used with Wi-Fi 6 devices and even give access to some live TV services . The Crew Dragon hatch opened at 10:13 a.m. EDT, so the Expedition 67 crew welcomed the Ax-1 team. The addition of these four men brings the total ISS population to 11; the others are NASA astronauts Tom Marshburn, Kayla Barron, Raja Chari, ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Korsokov, Den Oleg Matveyev. Three Ax-1 crew members received a pin from the Space Exploration Association (ASE) to formally recognize their new status as astronauts. “There is a tradition that when you cross a certain limit, you become an astronaut. This happened to these three gentlemen for the first time yesterday. “Now I would like to make an official note of it,” said López-Alegría, a former NASA astronaut, during Saturday’s welcoming ceremony. “When I pin them – I think the numbers are 582, 583 and 584 for Larry, Eitan and Mark – I hope they wear them with the pride they deserve,” he said, referring to the total number of officially recognized astronauts to date. The Ax-1 team is now adapting to microgravity and becoming familiar with the space station. On Sunday, López-Alegría posted a stunning image of the Earth on Twitter, saying: “La vida es corta. vívala a tope! “, which translates from Spanish to English as” Life is short. live it to the fullest! ” Axiom said the first day was mainly about preparing the equipment for a very busy week. The team has only 100 hours to complete its respective tasks. You can learn more about the Ax-1 mission and what the team is trying to achieve here.
