Mar 15, 2023
NASA and Axiom Space have signed a mission order for the third private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, targeted to launch no earlier than November 2023 from the agency’s NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
“The diversity of currently available commercial orbital human spaceflight opportunities is truly astounding. NASA’s commercial crew flights to the space station for our government astronauts paved the way for fully private missions to space like Inspiration4 and Polaris as well as private astronaut missions to the orbiting laboratory like the one we are announcing today,” said Phil McAlister, director of commercial space at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “We are starting to see the incorporation of space into our economic sphere, and it is going to revolutionize the way people see, use, and experience space.”
Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) is expected to spend 14 days docked to the space station. A specific launch date is dependent on spacecraft traffic to the space station and in-orbit activity planning and constraints. NASA and Axiom Space mission planners will coordinate in-orbit activities for the private astronauts to conduct in coordination with space station crew members and flight controllers on the ground.
Forecasts by Orbit Type (Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Satellites, Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) Satellites, Geostationary Orbit (GEO) Satellites), by End-user (Army, Navy, Air Force, Special Forces), by Type (Communication Satellites, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR), Navigation Satellites, Weather Satellites, Other), by Payload Type (Imaging Payloads, Communication Payloads, Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) Payloads, Signal Intelligence (SIGINT) Payloads, Navigation & Surveillance Payloads, Other) AND Regional and Leading National Market Analysis PLUS Analysis of Leading Companies AND COVID-19 Impact and Recovery Pattern Analysis
Download free sample pages“Axiom Space’s selection to lead the next private astronaut mission to the International Space Station enables us to continue expanding access to nations, academia, commercial entities, and emerging industries to research, test, and demonstrate new technologies in microgravity,” said Michael Suffredini, CEO and president of Axiom Space. “As NASA’s focus shifts back to the Moon and on to Mars, we are committed to transforming low-Earth orbit into a global space marketplace, where access to space moves beyond the partners of the space station to nations, institutions and individuals with new ideas fueling a thriving human economy beyond Earth.”
