Space & Astronomy

All-civilian Ax-1 crew arrive on the space station

By T.K. Randall
April 10, 2022

Image: International Space Station
Credit: (PD) NASA The mission, which launched on Friday, saw three civilians and a former astronaut soar into the heavens from Florida's Kennedy Space Center aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule.

The crew included Canadian investor and philanthropist Mark Pathy, US entrepreneur Larry Connor and ex-Israeli Air Force pilot Eytan Stibbe

They were joined by former NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria who served as commander.

The trip, which cost each crew member a whopping $55 million, has provided them with the opportunity to spend 10 days aboard the International Space Station where they will conduct a number of scientific experiments and experience what it is like to live and work in space.Given the nature of the mission, there has been some debate over whether the crew will be considered genuine astronauts or if they will simply be deemed space tourists.

Their journey is certainly different to the typical suborbital offerings of Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic.

"This mission is very different from what you may have heard of in some of the recent - especially suborbital - missions," said Lopez-Alegria. "We are not space tourists."

"I think there's an important role for space tourism, but it is not what Axiom is about."


Source: Interesting Engineering

Tags: Space Tourism, ISS