Axiom Space Sends Space Tourists To The ISS In The SpaceX Crew Dragon
SpaceX’s crewed spacecraft, known as Crew Dragon, successfully reached the International Space Station (ISS), carrying with it four crew members who took part in the Ax-3 tourism mission organized by Axiom Space.
The Crew Dragon spacecraft with its crew on board set off on a 36-hour journey to the ISS on Thursday, January 18. A Falcon 9 launch vehicle was used to launch it into outer space. The docking of Crew Dragon with the ISS Harmony module took place on January 20. This is already the third commercial mission for Axiom Space. Since 2022, the company has delivered nine tourists to the ISS.
As part of the Ax-3 mission, the Crew Dragon crew included former National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria as commander, pilot Walter Villadei, who is a lieutenant colonel The Italian Air Force, as well as specialists Marcus Wandt from Sweden and Alper Gezeravci, who became the first astronaut in Turkish history.
The mission was the third such flight organized by Houston-based Axiom in the past two years. The company is growing its business of sending astronauts sponsored by foreign governments and private enterprise into low Earth orbit. It charges its clients at least $55 million for each astronaut seat.
Billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX is providing Axiom launch vehicles and crew capsules under contract for Axiom missions, as it does for NASA missions to the ISS. SpaceX also controls the flights of its rockets from the company’s headquarters near Los Angeles. NASA, in addition to arranging the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, takes responsibility for astronauts after docking with the ISS.
