This Friday, a SpaceX rocket will attempt to launch from the Kennedy Space Center with four civilians on board. It is the first all-private mission to the ISS, in a mission that is poised to be a precedent. Here’s what you need to know before this historic launch. The Ax-1 crew, which includes a retired NASA astronaut, will climb into a Crew Dragon capsule on April 8 and launch at 11:17 a.m. EST on top of a Falcon 9. rocket If all goes according to plan, the mission, managed by Houston-based Axiom Space, will serve as another milestone in the ongoing privatization of space. Here are five things you need to know about sending Ax-1.
It is the first exclusively private mission to the ISS
Last year’s Inspiration4 mission will go down in history as the first to send an exclusively private crew into space. The Ax-1 is different from the fact that the four crew members – all private – will spend time on the International Space Station. This has never happened before. The closest thing, I guess, was the Russian film crew who spent 12 days on the ISS last year shooting scenes for a movie, but this mission, the Soyuz MS-19, was not exclusively private, as cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov participated as the commander. The four men who will take part in this new mission are Michael López-Alegría from the USA and Spain, Larry Connor from the USA, Eytan Stibbe from Israel and Mark Pathy from Canada. Axiom did not respond to a request for comment. A 2019 press release from the company stated a price of $ 55 million for private astronaut tickets. G / O Media may receive a commission
Axiom is a small company with big plans
Axiom Space, founded in 2016, had about 110 employees in February 2021, but is expanding and has plans to reach 1,000 employees by the end of 2024. The company has close ties with NASA. Michael Suffredini, former program director of NASA ISS, serves as CEO of the company and Charles Bolden, former director of NASA, works as an independent consultant. Axiom has a long list of possible offerings, including astronaut training, managing private and national flights to the ISS, offering in-orbit production capabilities, space life systems development and medical support, among other services related to its exploration and commercialization. space. It is important that the company has plans to build a private space station (more on that is a bit), which it places as a future cornerstone of its overall offering.
The Ax-1 is a journey for boys
López-Alegría, former NASA astronaut and vice president of Axiom, will lead the Ax-1, while Connor, a businessman and investor, will be the pilot. López-Alegría flew into space on four different occasions during his 20-year career at NASA and is poised to become the first astronaut in history to lead both a political and a commercial human space mission. Pathay and Stibbe, both investors, will serve as experts on the mission. Ax-1 crew (left to right): Larry Connor, Michael López-Alegría, Mark Pathy and Eytan Stibbe. Image: Axiom Space All members of the Ax-1 crew are men, but former NASA astronaut Peggy Witson serves as the mission’s backup commander. And on that note, Whitson is currently leading the Ax-2 mission, which is scheduled for early 2023.
This is a “precursor” mission
Axiom describes the Ax-1 as a “precursor” private astronaut mission. It is the first of four proposed missions, all of which are a stepping stone for the company as it looks forward to building its own private orbital outpost, called the Axiom Station. Construction of the station is scheduled to begin in 2024. A succession of units will be gradually added to the ISS Harmony node. With the withdrawal of the ISS in 2030, the space station will be detached from the outpost to “form the world’s first free-flying, privately developed, internationally available space station – the hub of a near future LEO research, construction and marketing network.” , according to Axiom. Illustration of the Axiom station connected to the ISS Harmony module. Image: Axiom Space The Ax-1 crew will spend 10 days in space, eight of which will be in the USS IS. The crew will conduct scientific experiments, perform some commercial activities and promote STEM training. The crew will have no time to lose, as they plan to do 25 different experiments in just 100 hours. A ground team stationed at the Axiom Space Mission Control Center in Houston will provide support around the clock.
The mission aims to bring us closer to space
The crew has collaborated with many institutions to carry out a series of scientific and technological experiments and tests. Some of them have important implications for humans living on Earth, but are primarily aimed at allowing further exploration of space. As Axiom explained in a press release: “The data collected during the flight will affect the understanding of human physiology on Earth and in orbit, as well as the usefulness of new technologies that could be used for future pursuits of human spaceflight and of humanity on Earth “. The space helmet with EEG capability. Photo: brain.space A good example is the EEG-enabled helmet, which will be tested and used by the Ax-1 crew. In collaboration with Ben Gurion University, the team will record and analyze brain signals in an effort to identify possible neurological differences in humans when working in space. Ultimately, the goal is to provide future long-term space missions with an easy-to-use and comfortable helmet and build an “accurate device for daily measurement of astronaut fitness,” according to brain.space, the Israeli company behind the helmet. . The crew will also experiment with TESSERAE, or Tessellated Electromagnetic Space Structures for the Exploration of Reconfigurable, Adaptive Environments. This is a futuristic thing to do, as this technology could eventually lead to self-assembled satellites. Named after the Roman mosaics, the TESSERAE modules are designed to connect to create larger structures, such as rooms and parabolic mirrors. During Ax-1, the team will test prototypes capable of detecting the quality of the bonds between the tiles. Illustration of a future self-assembled TESSERAE space station orbiting Mars. Image: MIT Space Exploration Initiative / TU Dortmund Fraunhofer Institute Collaborations involving the Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic and Montreal’s Children Hospital will study the effects of microgravity on aging, heart health, spinal and cerebral tissue, chronic pain and sleep disorders. The team will also utilize aspects of the accelerated aging of the microgravity environment to assess early precancerous and cancerous changes in tumor organelles and test a new air purification system, among other tasks. It all starts on Friday, weather permitting. It may have taken some time, but we have fully entered an age when individuals — albeit highly privileged individuals — can fly in low Earth orbit and use space as their personal playground and place to do business. Hopefully they will have the rest in mind. Do you have a tip or comment for me about the space flight industry? Contact me at [email protected]
