The first completely private mission to the International Space Station is expected to complete the final leg of its journey over the next few days, capping what has turned into a longer-than-expected journey later. when bad weather keeps the passengers on the space station. a few more days.
The mission, called AX-1, was brokered by Houston, Texas-based startup Axiom Space, which specializes in booking rocket rides, providing all the necessary training, and coordinating the trips. fly to the ISS for anyone who can afford it.
Four crew members – Michael López-Alegría, a former NASA astronaut staff member who is commanding the mission; Israeli businessman Eytan Stibbe; Canadian investor Mark Pathy; and Ohio-based real estate mogul Larry Connor – are scheduled to leave the space station aboard their SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft Sunday at 8:55 p.m. ET. That’s another 24-hour delay from what NASA and Axiom targeted on Saturday.
They now plan to spend a day free-flying through orbit before re-entering the atmosphere and parachuting down to a landing pad off the coast of Florida at around 1 p.m. ET Monday, according to a statement. tweet from Kathy Lueders, head of NASA’s human spaceflight program.
AX-1, which launched on April 8, was initially counted as a 10-day mission, but the delay extended the mission by about a week.
During their first 12 days on the space station, the team stuck to a regimental schedule, which included about 14 hours a day of activities, including scientific research. Designed by many research hospitals, universities, technology companies and more. They also spend time conducting video conferencing outreach events with children and students.
According to Axiom, the weather delay gave them “a little more time to absorb the remarkable views of the blue planet and review the massive amount of work completed on the mission”.
It’s not clear what the cost of this mission is. Axiom had previously revealed a price tag of $55 million per seat for a 10-day trip to the ISS, but the company declined to comment on financial terms for this particular mission beyond speaking at a press conference this year. last that the price was in the tens of millions. “
The mission was made possible thanks to the very close coordination between Axiom, SpaceX and NASA, as the ISS is funded and operated by the government. And the space agency has released some details on how much it charges to use its 20-year-old orbital lab.
For each mission, getting the necessary support from NASA astronauts would cost commercial customers $5.2 million, and all the support and planning for the mission. NASA loaned another $4.8 million. Once in space, food alone costs about $2,000 per day per person. Get contingencies to and from the space station for a commercial crew of $88,000 to $164,000 per person, per day.
But the extra days that the AX-1 crew are in space due to weather won’t add up to their individual overall price, according to a statement from NASA.
“Knowing that International Space Station mission goals such as the recently conducted Russian spacewalk or weather challenges could result in a delayed undo, NASA negotiated contract with a no-charge strategy for additional delays,” the statement read.
This is not the first time paying customers or non-astronauts have visited the ISS, as Russia has sold seats on its Soyuz spacecraft to various rich thrill seekers over the years.
But AX-1 is the first mission with a crew entirely composed of private citizens with no active members of the government crew accompanying them in the capsule during their voyage to and from the ISS. This is also the first time private citizens have boarded the ISS on a US-made spacecraft.
The mission sparked another round of debate over whether people who pay for space should be called “astronauts”, although it should be noted that a trip to the ISS requires a large investment. much more in both time and money than taking a short trip into orbit underground on a rocket built by companies like Blue Origin or Virgin Galactic.
López-Alegría, a veteran of four spacewalks between 1995 and 2007 during his time with NASA, said of this: “This mission is very different from what you may have heard in a recent issue – suborbital in particular – Missions We’re not space tourists I think space tourism plays an important role, but that’s not what Axiom is talking about. “
While paying customers won’t receive astronaut wings from the US government, they were given the “Astronaut Badge” – a gold pin recently designed by the Association of Astronauts. space exploration, an international team consisting of astronauts from 38 countries. López-Alegría gives Stibbe, Pathy and Connor their pins in a welcome ceremony after the group arrives at the space station.
