WASHINGTON_ A rocket SpaceX took off this Thursday Florida heading to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of a private mission with four passengers on board, including a Swede, an Italian and the first Turk to go to space.
Named Ax-3, this mission is the third organized by the American company Axiom Space, in association with the NASAwhich allows the use of the station.
The launch took place as scheduled at 4:49 p.m. (9:49 p.m. GMT) from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, in the southeastern United States.
The four crew members, who had been training for months, will arrive at the ISS on Saturday, where they will stay for about two weeks.
Scientific experiments
They are scheduled to carry out a series of scientific experiments at the station.
After allowing wealthy clients to realize their space dreams, Axiom Space now also welcomes people sponsored by national organizations.
This mission highlights the growing role of the private sector in supporting the space ambitions of countries that lack their own human flight program.
Some clients
The Ax-2 mission had already allowed two Saudis supported by their government to remain on the ISS. This time, the crew includes Alper Gezeravci, a fighter pilot who has become the first Turk to cross the final border.
“We see this mission as a symbol of an increasingly powerful and established Turkey,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared this week, wishing Colonel Gezeravci “good luck.”
Swede Marcus Wandt is also on board, with support from the European Space Agency (ESA).
His role as a “project astronaut” at ESA allows him to participate in short-term missions with a fixed-term contract, unlike full-time astronauts, the European agency reported.
“I want to thank ESA for being bold and visionary, and for leading, together with Sweden and Axiom Space, in strengthening the European presence in space,” Wandt wrote on the X social network.
The crew is completed by Italian Walter Villadei, a member of his country’s air forces, who has already flown aboard a Virgin Galactic ship for a few minutes.
Finally, the Spanish-American Michael López-Alegría, former NASA astronaut, will be the mission commander, hired by Axiom Space to accompany the three clients.
Future private station
The crew will join seven other people aboard the flying laboratory: two American astronauts, one Dane, one Japanese and three Russian cosmonauts.
The details of the various contracts, including the prices paid to Axiom Space for each space, have not been made public.
These private missions are carried out in collaboration with NASA, which charges Axiom Space for use of the station.
For the company, these missions are a first step towards building its own space station.
A program encouraged by NASA, which plans to close the ISS around 2030 and then send its astronauts to private stations.
Source: AFP
