Axiom-3, the first all-European private astronaut mission, to launch Wednesday to ISS
Nicknamed Axiom-3, the first all-European private astronaut mission to the International Space Station is targeting 5:11 p.m. EST Wednesday for launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will lift the multinational astronaut quartet and their SpaceX Dragon spacecraft skyward from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
After roughly 36 hours of spaceflight, the Dragon capsule should dock with the ISS about 5:15 a.m. Friday. Once aboard the orbiting outpost, the astronauts will spend up to 14 days conducting more than 30 experiments and more than 50 outreach events, Axiom Space Communications Director Alexis DeJarnette said during a press conference last week.
"We are all ready for our missions that we have been rigorously training and carrying on practicing, in terms of science. As you know, I'm representing my beautiful country of Turkey as the first person to go to space," Mission Specialist Alper Gezeravc? of Turkey said during the Thursday press conference.
"However, this mission is not only focused on the first manned mission, but it's also representing a lot of scientific missions that we are intending to contribute in the science world," Gezeravc? said.
Gezeravc?'s fellow Axiom-3 astronauts:
Commander Michael López-Alegría, a former NASA astronaut and dual American-Spanish citizen.
Pilot Walter Villadei, an Italian Air Force colonel.
Mission Specialist Marcus Wandt, a Swedish European Space Agency astronaut.
"And now, the feelings are mostly excitement and joy. And actually, you can see that on the faces and in the eyes of the people around us — and within the crew — that we're getting close," Villadei said during the press conference.
In an encouraging early forecast, the Space Force's 45th Weather Squadron pegs the odds of "go for launch" weather at more than 95%. Primary risk: liftoff winds. Wednesday's National Weather Service forecast calls for mostly sunny skies, a high near 60 and north wind of 10 to 15 mph with gusts reaching 20 mph at nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Axiom-3 is scheduled for liftoff on the heels of Sunday night's SpaceX Falcon 9 launch that sent a new batch of Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The mission will mark the first crewed launch of the year from the Space Coast.
After stage separation, the Falcon 9 first-stage booster will target a return landing at the military facility, generating sonic booms in Brevard County.
Axiom Space previously launched Axiom-1, the first private mission to the ISS, in April 2022. Following suit, Axiom-2 launched in May from KSC.
Based in Houston, Texas, Axiom Space is building the first commercial space station — with hopes of launching its first section into low-Earth orbit in 2026. Michael Suffredini, the co-founder and president-CEO, served as NASA’s ISS program manager from 2005 to 2015.
Axiom Space, NASA and SpaceX officials will conduct a launch readiness review Tuesday to discuss the Falcon 9 and Dragon spacecraft, hardware and mission status.
López-Alegría was born in Madrid, Spain, and he grew up in Mission Viejo, California. He served as a mission specialist on three space shuttle flights: STS-73 (Columbia) in 1995, STS-92 (Discovery) in 2000, and STS-113 (Endeavour) in 2002.
He also commanded ISS Expedition 14, which launched to the space station in 2007 aboard a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Then he commanded the crew of Axiom-1 in 2022.
"We're super ready. We're very excited to embark on this mission," López-Alegría said during the press conference.
For the latest launch schedule updates from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit floridatoday.com/launchschedule.
Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY (for more of his stories, click here.) Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 or [email protected]. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Axiom-3 all-European private astronaut mission to launch Wednesday
