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This Friday at 5:17 p.m. peninsular time, the trip of the first totally private crew to the International Space Station (ISS). Commanded by the former NASA astronaut of Spanish origin Michael Lopez-Alegria (founder of his own space company, Axiom Space), the objective of the mission is for the experience of its customers (three pilots who have each paid 55 million dollars – just over 50 million euros – per ticket) to go beyond “sticking their nose to the glass”, conducting different scientific experiments for renowned institutions. A step further in the new era of space tourism.
Unlike the companies Blue Origin (created by Amazon tycoon, Jeff Bezos) The Virgin Galactic (owned by millionaire Richard Branson)who have created their own ships, for the displacement, Axiom Space has contracted the services of SpaceX.
Specifically your capsule
Crew Dragon (with which NASA is transporting its astronauts to the ISS) mounted on one of its reusable rockets Falcon 9. The crew has departed from platform 39A at the Kennedy Space Center at 11:17 AM local time, and is expected to arrive on Saturday at the module of the US space agency, which has signed an agreement with Axiom Space to allow the stay in your instalations. They will remain there for nine days (much more than the four minutes of weightlessness provided by the experiences of Bezos and Branson) and will carry out two dozen experiments, including tests with stem cells, monitoring of vital signs in space or tests with holograms. to operate thousands of kilometers above the earth’s surface.
“We have been pursuing this goal for months and even years. Training, medical, physical tests… We are very excited, ”López-Alegría himself assured ABC in an interview in January, just after NASA approved the crew. The former astronaut, now turned businessman, stated that the company’s intention is to continue depending on the American module until 2024, when they will create their own facilities with a laboratory, rooms and even a set for filming.
The experiments
This first crew is composed, in addition to López-Alegría himself, by Larry Connorexperienced American pilot; Eytan StibbeIsraeli Air Force pilot and partner of the other pilot who died in the Columbia accident in 2003, Ilan Ramon; Y Mark PathyCanadian businessman and philanthropist. Like professional NASA astronauts aboard the ISS, Axiom-1 crew members will spend their time conducting scientific research and observations in partnership with many institutions and private companies.
Specifically, in partnership with the Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation and six Canadian universities, Pathy will conduct experiments on understanding chronic pain, sleep disorders and vision changes during human spaceflight. It will also test a new method of mixed reality communication between Earth and space, with holograms, 3D projections and special glasses.
In collaboration with the Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic, Connor will help conduct cellular research in space and biomedical research on the ground by participating in “high-resolution pre- and post-mission MRIs to study the effects of the spaceflight environment on tissue.” brain and spinal”. For her part, Stibbe will contribute experiments on space technology.
But not everything will be work. Axiom Space has signed an agreement with the Chef Jose Andres to prepare the dishes that the crew will taste during their stay on the ISS, including such Spanish recipes as Valencian paella, Iberian ham or Marcona almonds on the menu.
a tight schedule
After several delays (the last one this week, since the launch was initially scheduled for Wednesday), the private mission travels to the ISS with a tight schedule: the takeoff of the NASA Crew-4 mission will depend on its landing. , scheduled for the 21st of this month. From the US space agency they explain that a period of at least two days is necessary between the undocking of Axiom-1 from the station and the launch of the new NASA mission.
In addition, problems in the ‘wet dress rehearsal’ of the SLS megarocket forced the test to be delayed by a day, which was finally aborted. NASA has stated that it will look for a new date, although the schedule is adjusted if the US space agency wants to launch the first mission of the Artemis program in June.
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