SpaceX and Axiom Space bring the first private crew to the ISS-Information Technology

Call it a special flight because, unlike most other Space X flights, this Axiom-1 mission did not involve any space agency astronauts. USA (NASA).

According to VNA, on the evening of April 8, Space X technology group made a special flight – bringing the first private crew to the International Space Station (ISS).

Space X’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted the Crew Dragon from the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida (USA) at 15:17 GMT on April 8 (ie 22:17 on the same day, Vietnam time), carrying four crew members. member of the startup Axiom Space.

Call it a special flight because, unlike most other Space X flights, this Axiom-1 mission did not involve any space agency astronauts. USA (NASA).

All 4 members of the crew this time are civilians, working at a commercial aerospace company called Axiom Space. Accordingly, this is the flight that marks the first time a private crew has visited the ISS.

The trio of new astronauts includes Canadian investor Mark Pathy, American real estate investor Larry Connor and former Israeli Air Force pilot Eytan Stibbe. The commander of the trip is a “space veteran”: Michael López-Alegría, a former NASA astronaut (who holds dual US and Spanish citizenship) who has performed 4 missions into space and is now is the Vice President of Axiom Space.

The partnership between Space X and Axiom Space has been highly appreciated by NASA, which considers it an important step in the goal of commercializing the space region known as “Low Earth Orbit”, thereby accelerating efforts to participate in the project. hope to go deeper into space. Ticket price for this 8-day trip is 55 million USD/person.

According to Lao Dong, Axiom is taking advantage of an important moment when SpaceX moves into a new phase of operations with Crew Dragon. Initially, SpaceX developed Crew Dragon for NASA to ferry the agency’s astronauts to and from the International Space Station. With an initial contract worth $2.6 billion and over six years of development, SpaceX successfully launched its first crew on Crew Dragon in May 2020, bringing two NASA astronauts to the ISS.

NASA’s ultimate goal is to reduce the transport load to the ISS for the private sector, but a secondary goal is for SpaceX to use this space to carry out private space missions. With the Axiom missions, that’s exactly what SpaceX is doing: using protocols and technologies that NASA has developed to build an entirely private space business.