Ax-1: First All-private Astronaut Mission | International Space Station

Ax-1: First All-private Astronaut Mission | International Space Station

Commander Michael López-Alegría (Spain/USA)

Pilot Larry Connor (USA)

Mission Specialist Eytan Stibbe (Israel)

Mission Specialist Mark Pathy (Canada)

Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1) is the world’s first all-private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff is scheduled for no earlier than Friday, April 8, 2022, at 11:17 a.m. EDT from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and will travel to and from the space station in a Dragon spacecraft. Prelaunch activities, launch, and docking coverage will air live at axiomspace.com beginning April 8 at 7:55 a.m. 

Ax-1 crew members are Commander Michael López-Alegría of Spain and the United States, Pilot Larry Connor of the United States, and Mission Specialists Eytan Stibbe of Israel and Mark Pathy of Canada.

Michael López-Alegría (born May 30, 1958) is a Spanish-American astronaut; a veteran of three NASA Space Shuttle missions and one International Space Station mission prior to Ax-1. He has performed ten spacewalks in his career to date.

During their 10-day mission, the crew will spend eight days on the International Space Station conducting scientific research, outreach, and commercial activities. Ax-1 is the first of several proposed Axiom missions to the orbiting laboratory and an important step toward Axiom’s goal of constructing a private space station, Axiom Station, in low-Earth orbit that can serve as a global academic and commercial hub. 

Axiom Space is in the process of building a commercial space station.

Credit: Axiom Space/Chris Gunn

Release Date: April 4, 2022

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