The Ax-1 mission, organized by Texas-based Axiom Space, was scheduled to launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday, April 3, but the date was postponed to Wednesday, April 6. Ongoing preparations for NASA’s Artemis I lunar mission to a nearby launch site appear to have delayed. For the Ax-1, three amateur astronauts will fly a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft powered by a Falcon 9 rocket. Canadian investor and philanthropist Mark Pathy, American businessman Larry Connor and former Israeli pilot Pole Eytan Stibbe, reportedly paid about $ 55 million each for a lifetime trip, which will include a 10-day stay at the space station. The fourth participant is the commander of the mission Michael López-Alegría, a former NASA astronaut. All crew members have undergone months of intensive training for a mission that will include conducting various research and technological demonstrations in microgravity conditions, as well as stunning views of the Earth 250 miles below. The ISS will be more crowded than usual when tourists arrive. The station’s rotating crew usually consists of about six or seven astronauts from different countries, but when the Ax-1 crew arrives, it will increase to 11. As part of final preparations for the Ax-1, NASA will conduct a static Falcon 9 rocket fire test on Monday, April 4, two days before launch. Commenting on the mission when announced by Axiom Space last year, the commander of the Ax-1 mission López-Alegría said: . » He continued: “I know firsthand that what humans encounter in space is profound and pushes them to make a more substantial contribution to returning to Earth. I look forward to leading this crew and their subsequent substantial and productive contributions to human history. both on the track and at home “. To learn more about how astronauts live and work on the International Space Station, take a look at these handy videos made by the station over the years.
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