WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th May, 2021) The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Axiom Space have signed an agreement to launch the first entirely private sector astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS) no earlier than January 2022, top officials of both organizations said on Monday.
"This is a remarkable journey: It will result in a launch no earlier than in January 2022," Axion Space President and CEO Michael Suffredini told a podcast press conference.
NASA said the spaceflight, designated as Axiom Mission 1, will launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and the crew is scheduled to spend eight days aboard the orbiting laboratory.
"We are excited to see more people have access to spaceflight through this first private astronaut mission to the space station," Kathy Lueders, associate administrator for human exploration and operations at NASA Headquarters, said.
Axiom will purchase services for the mission from NASA, such as crew supplies, cargo delivery to space, storage, and other in-orbit resources for daily use. NASA will purchase from Axiom the capability to return scientific samples that must be kept cold in transit back to Earth," the space agency said.
"The first private crew to visit the International Space Station is a watershed moment in humanity's expansion off the planet ... A thriving commercial marketplace in low-Earth orbit begins with expanding access to serious, nontraditional users and that is exactly the aim of our private astronaut missions," Suffredini said.
NASA said it has opened up the space station for commercial activities, including private astronaut missions, as part of its plan to develop a competitive economy in low-Earth orbit.
