For the first time ever, an all-European-manned space flight will take off for the International Space Station (ISS), and it will do so from American soil.
Axiom Space announced its third mission to the ISS on Sept. 12, stating the four-man mission will launch from Kennedy Space Center aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule no earlier than January 2024. They will spend 14 days aboard the orbiting laboratory, conducting science, outreach, and commercial activities.
The Axiom-3 (Ax-3) crew consists of Italian Air Force Col. Walter Villadei (pilot), European Space Agency (ESA) project astronaut Marcus Wandt of Sweden (mission specialist), and Alper Gezeravci of Turkey (mission specialist). Mr. Wandt will be the first ESA-sponsored astronaut to fly on a commercial space flight, and Mr. Gezeravci will be the first Turkish person in space. Both have served in the air force for their nations.
The mission commander will be Axiom Space’s chief astronaut, Michael López-Alegría. He’s a former astronaut of NASA and holds dual citizenship in the United States and Spain. He’s the only U.S. citizen tied to the mission.
“It is an honor to command another private astronaut mission with Axiom Space and lead a dynamic crew of professional operators representing several nations across one region of the world,” Mr. López-Alegría said in a statement. “The Ax-3 mission will be transformational as it fosters partnerships outside the construct of the ISS and positions European nations as pioneers of the emerging commercial space industry.”
Axiom Space and NASA have also agreed to order a fourth mission at this time that’s set to launch no earlier than August 2024.
Private Takeover of Low Earth Orbit
Axiom Space holds the position of being the only player in the commercial space industry to provide full-service, end-to-end crewed orbital missions for private- and government-sponsored astronauts.“This crew is shifting the paradigm of how governments and space agencies access and reap the benefits of microgravity,” Mr. López-Alegría said.
NASA’s position on more private enterprise in low Earth orbit (LEO) continues to be a supportive one. Putting more emphasis on commercial spaceflight operations “will provide services the government needs at a lower cost, enabling the agency to focus on its Artemis missions to the Moon in preparation for Mars while continuing to use low Earth orbit as a training and proving ground for those deep space missions,” NASA said in a statement about Ax-3.
Ax-1, also commanded by Mr. López-Alegría, launched in 2022 and spent 17 days in orbit. Ax-2 launched in May for a nine-day stay and saw the first Saudi astronauts—including the first Saudi woman in space, Rayyanah Barnawi—visit the ISS.
“The Ax-3 mission will be transformational as it fosters partnerships outside the construct of the ISS and positions European nations as pioneers of the emerging commercial space industry,” Mr. López-Alegría said.
The current missions to the ISS are part of an effort to build “a thriving LEO ecosystem and global space marketplace,” Axiom Space stated. The privately funded aerospace company continues to grow an international coalition of partners with the goal of diversifying the community of spacefaring nations and building what it wants to be the ultimate successor of the ISS: Axiom Station.
“I am proud to see NASA and [the] industry’s continued dedication toward enabling private astronaut missions,” Angela Hart, manager of NASA’s Commercial Low-Earth Orbit Development Program at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, said in a statement about Ax-3.
“These commercial efforts continue to expand opportunity and access to microgravity research and discovery. Each of these missions is a next step in building our shared future in low Earth orbit.”
NASA’s own partnership with the space launch company SpaceX continues as the commercial crew program. Its Crew-6 mission returned safely to Earth on Sept. 4. The ongoing Crew-7 mission launched in the early morning of Aug. 26 and docked with the ISS on Aug. 27. Both crews consist of only NASA and government-backed professional astronauts from Russia, Japan, Europe, and the United Arab Emirates.
