US space company names first private crew to visit International Space Station
The rocket is all set to be launched on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft
Axiom Space has announced the clients for its first privately-funded and operated mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday.
"The Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1)" is their first privately-funded and operated flight to the ISS in collaboration with NASA, reports Scientific American.
The crew members are Larry Connor, an American real estate and technology entrepreneur; Eytan Stibbe, a businessman and former Israeli fighter pilot; Mark Pathy, a Canadian investor and philanthropist; and Michael Lopez-Alegria, a retired NASA astronaut and vice president of Axiom who logged almost 260 days on four prior missions.
The carrier is all set to be launched on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.
At 71 years old, Connor will become the second oldest person to fly into space (only surpassed by the late John Glenn, who made his second spaceflight at the age of 77).
The Ax-1 mission is the first in a series of flights to the space station, including one possibly crewed by actor Tom Cruise and director Doug Liman, which are precursors to Axiom launching and attaching new commercial modules to the ISS. The Axiom Segment will serve as a testbed for the company's planned free-flying Axiom Station.