A little while ago, the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavor spacecraft blasted off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in the Axiom Mission 1 or simply Ax-1 mission. After about twelve minutes it successfully separated from the rocket’s last stage. It will spend approximately 10 days in orbit which includes 8 days on the International Space Station. Unlike the private space missions conducted last year, the Ax-1 also has commercial purposes in a collaboration between SpaceX, Axiom Space, and NASA to access the Station for the purpose of conducting work useful for the development of new technologies and scientific research.
The four crew members of the Crew Dragon Endeavor spacecraft are:
Michael López-Alegría. Born on May 30, 1958, in Madrid, Spain, he grew up in California and was naturalized American. He enlisted in the US Navy, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in systems engineering in 1980 and a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering in 1988. After serving as a naval aviator and flight instructor, he was selected by NASA in 1992. He completed three space missions with the Space Shuttles: the STS-73 on the Columbia between October 20 and November 5, 1995, the STS-92 on the Discovery between October 11 and 24, 2000, and the STS-113 on the Endeavor between November 24 and December 7, 2002. He was the commander of the International Space Station with Expedition 14 between December 18, 2006, and April 21, 2007. He performed a total of 10 spacewalks. After leaving NASA, he started working for private aerospace companies and has been a senior executive at Axiom Space since 2017.
Larry Connor. Born in 1950 in Albany, New York, USA, he’s an entrepreneur who worked in various fields, from technology to real estate. He’s a pilot who has participated in aerobatics competitions and car racing. He’s on his first space mission, in which he was designated as a pilot of the spacecraft Endeavor.
Mark Pathy. Born in 1969 in Canada, he’s the CEO of the investment firm Mavrik. He’s also engaged in philanthropic activities and on the Ax-1 mission, he will bring scientific projects from various Canadian universities to the International Space Station as well as medical research from the Montreal Children’s Hospital Research Institute.
Eytan Stibbe. Born in 1958 in Haifa, Israel, he was a pilot and flight instructor in the Israeli Air Force. After working in the private sector with various companies, he opened Vital Capital Fund, a company that invests in businesses that aim to improve the situation of low- and middle-income communities. He’s also engaged in philanthropic activities. In the Ax-1 mission, he will bring Israeli technologies to the International Space Station that he will demonstrate in a microgravity environment.
The three entrepreneurs reportedly paid $55 million each to participate in the Ax-1 mission. Axiom Space has big ambitions regarding scientific and technological research in orbit and this is only the beginning of a collaboration with SpaceX and NASA. The arrival at the International Space Station of the Crew Dragon Endeavor spacecraft which, in its third mission, will open the doors to this program of access to the low Earth orbit is scheduled for tomorrow around 13.30 UTC.
