Turkey’s first astronaut, Alper Gezeravcı, and three European crew members embarked on a historic mission to the International Space Station, arranged by Texas startup Axiom Space.
Turkey’s first astronaut, Alper Gezeravcı, and three European crew members embarked on a historic mission to the International Space Station, arranged by Texas startup Axiom Space. The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying the Axiom quartet lifted off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA‘s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral.
The launch, showcased on an Axiom-SpaceX joint webcast, saw the autonomously operated Crew Dragon initiating a planned 36-hour flight to the orbiting laboratory. The spacecraft is expected to reach the ISS early on Saturday morning, docking with the outpost currently occupied by seven regular crew members.
Cameras inside the crew compartment provided a breathtaking view of the four astronauts calmly seated in their pressurized cabin, donned in helmeted white-and-black flight suits as the rocket soared towards space. The Falcon 9’s upper stage successfully delivered the crew capsule to its preliminary orbit nine minutes after launch.
Flight commander Michael López-Alegría, communicating from the Crew Dragon, expressed gratitude to mission control, emphasizing the collaborative nature of space missions. Meanwhile, the reusable lower stage of the Falcon 9 safely touched down on Earth, showcasing SpaceX’s continued strides in rocket reusability.
This mission marks Axiom’s third flight over the past two years, solidifying its position as a key player in commercial space travel. Axiom, based in Houston, organizes missions for astronauts sponsored by foreign governments and private enterprises, charging a minimum of $55 million per astronaut seat.
The Axiom-3 mission’s plans include the crew spending approximately 14 days in microgravity aboard the ISS, conducting over 30 scientific experiments. Many of these experiments focus on understanding the effects of spaceflight on human health and disease. Symbolically, this mission reflects the increasing interest of nations in Earth orbit activities for global prestige, military advancements, and satellite-based communications.
The crew for the Axiom-3 mission comprises Alper Gezeravcı from Turkey, Italian Air Force Colonel Walter Villadei, Swedish aviator Marcus Wandt, and Michael López-Alegría, a retired NASA astronaut and dual citizen of Spain and the United States.
Axiom has billed this flight as “the first all-European commercial astronaut mission” to the space station. Upon successful docking with the ISS, the crew will join the seven members of the station’s regular crew, including representatives from NASA, Japan, Denmark, and Russia.
Axiom’s partnership with SpaceX, the privately funded rocket and satellite company founded by Elon Musk, has been instrumental in these missions. SpaceX provides launch vehicles and crew capsules under contract, with NASA assuming responsibility for the astronauts once they rendezvous with the space station.
Notably, Axiom, an eight-year-old venture led by NASA’s former ISS program manager, is among the companies working on a commercial space station intended to replace the aging ISS, expected to retire around 2030. The success of the Axiom-3 mission underscores the growing significance of commercial ventures in shaping the future of space exploration.