CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Axiom Space has officially been given the final green light for its first private astronaut mission to the International Space Station.
NASA announced Wednesday that the agency, along with its international partners, has approved Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1) crew members to liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 30.
The four-person crew of Michael López-Alegría, Larry Connor, Mark Pathy, and Eytan Stibbe will liftoff from Launch Complex 39A on the Crew Dragon Endeavour atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Once aboard the orbiting laboratory, the Axiom Space astronauts will conduct science, education and commercial activities for eight days before returning to Earth.
“This represents another significant milestone in our efforts to create a low-Earth orbit economy,” said Phil McAlister, director of commercial spaceflight at NASA. “I wish these Axiom crew members safe travels, and I hope they find their time in space productive and enjoyable.”
The Ax-1 crew has been training at NASA's Johnson Space Center and other facilities since August 2021 to familiarize themselves with things like station systems and emergency procedures, according to a press release.
The mission comes as NASA is continuing to open the space station up to commercial activities in an effort to "develop a robust and competitive economy in low-Earth orbit."
Other contracts Axiom has with NASA include, providing at least one habitable commercial module that will be attached to a port on the International Space Station's Harmony node in late 2024.
