Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) is scheduled for liftoff on Thursday, January 18 at 4:49 p.m.
ET from NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Heres what it’s crucial that you know about Axioms upcoming flight.
Ax-3 will carry a four-person, all-European crew on a two-week mission to the ISS.Photo: Axiom Space
How to watch the Ax-3 launch?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dr8gN1DFj4w
NASA will also livestream the launch through NASA TV and the space agencyswebsite.
SpaceX will host its ownbroadcastthrough the companys account on X around two hours before launch time.
The Dragon spacecraft awaiting launch atop the Falcon 9 rocket.Photo: C&J Images
Who is launching on board Ax-3?
The mission will launch a four-person crew to the space station.
Former NASA astronaut and Axioms current chief astronaut, Michael Lopez-Alegria, will serve as commander of the mission.
Lopez-Alegria also commandedAxiom Spaces first private mission to the ISSin April 2022.
Walter Villadei, an Italian Air Force officer, will serve as the missions pilot.
Hes no stranger to private missions, having flown on boardVirgin Galactics first commercial flightin June 2023.
What will Ax-3 astronauts do on board the ISS?
The Dragon spacecraft will be packed with more than 30 experiments from Italy, Turkey, and Sweden.
These cells will be collected from an astronaut on the ISS for the assessment.
How many private missions have flown to the ISS?
This will mark Axiom Spaces third private mission to the ISS.
Ax-2 launched a little over a year later,sending another private crew to the ISSin May 2023.
NASA has already tapped Axiom Space for afourth mission to the ISS.
Why is NASA flying private astronauts to the ISS?
That being said, the first private mission to the ISSwasnt allsmooth sailing.
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