The First All-European Commercial Crew En Route to International Space Station
An all-European commercial crew, sponsored by Houston-based Axiom Space, successfully launched from SpaceX at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. In a departure from traditional NASA missions, Axiom Space, in its third passenger-carrying trip to the International Space Station (I.S.S.), arranged and financed the mission, collaborating with SpaceX for transportation. Axiom aims to construct its own space station in the future, utilizing these missions for planning and design insights.
Initially scheduled for launch on Wednesday, the mission was postponed for additional pre-launch checkouts and parachute system energy modulator analysis. SpaceX later confirmed that all systems were in good condition for the launch the following day. The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft named Freedom, carrying the Ax-3 crew, will spend the next 36 hours in pursuit of the I.S.S., orbiting approximately 250 miles above Earth.
Upon docking, the crew, led by Axiom's Chief Astronaut Michael López-Alegría, a former NASA astronaut and I.S.S. commander, will conduct a two-week stay on the orbital laboratory, engaging in around 30 experiments covering microgravity research, technology demonstrations, and outreach engagements. The Ax-3 mission includes pilot Walter Villadei from the Italian Air Force and mission specialists Alper Gezeravcı from Turkey and Marcus Wandt from Sweden and the European Space Agency.
Gezeravcı, the first Turkish astronaut to venture into space, expressed, "This spaceflight is not a destination but a journey. This is just the beginning of our journey - for a long growing space journey in our future." The Ax-3 crew will join the existing seven occupants on the I.S.S.
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