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LAUNCH OF AXIOM-1 (Ax-1) PRIVATE ASTRONAUT MISSION TO ISS, Apr 8, 2022, KSC, 11:17 am ET
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Update, April 5: The launch remains scheduled for April 8 at 11:17 am ET. SpaceX says its launch webcast will begin 3 hours in advance and end 15 minutes after launch. It then will resume 2 hours before docking. If launch on April 8 does not take place as planned, April 9 at 10:54 am ET is the backup date.
Update, April 3: NASA’s Artemis I Wet Dress Rehearsal has been delayed, causing a delay in this launch to April 8 at 11:17 am ET. Docking is scheduled for April 9 at 7:30 am ET. Dates and times for associated events will be announced later.
Update, March 31: Axiom and SpaceX will begin joint live launch coverage on Axiom’s website at 8:40 am ET on April 6. NASA TV will join at 10:45 am ET. Pre- and post-launch briefings are planned as well as coverage of docking and other parts of the mission. See our separate calendar entries, but this is a quick summary:
Friday, April 1, 1:00 pm ET: Axiom Crew News Conference
Tuesday, April 5, no earlier than 3:00 pm ET (one hour after Launch Readiness Review concludes): Axiom/SpaceX/NASA Pre-launch News Conference
Wednesday, April 6, 8:40 am ET through launch at 12:05 pm ET: Axiom/SpaceX launch coverage (NASA TV joins at 10:45 am ET)
Wednesday, April 6, 1:15 pm ET: Axiom/SpaceX/NASA post-launch Media Briefing
Friday, April 8, 1:00 am ET: Axiom and NASA docking coverage, with docking scheduled for ~2:45 am ET and hatch opening at ~5:00 am ET
Update, March 28: NASA decided to conduct the Artemis I Wet Dress Rehearsal on April 3. NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana said at a budget briefing today that the new date for Axiom-1 is No Earlier Than April 6. He did not explain why it is slipping so many days. Axiom later posted on its website that the launch time that day is 12:05 pm ET.
Update, March 26: The date could change again depending on when NASA conducts the Artemis I Wet Dress Rehearsal which also is scheduled for April 3 at the moment. But for now, Ax-1 is still targeting April 3 at 1:13 pm ET.
Update, March 18: The launch date has slipped to April 3. The launch time was not announced by SpaceX or Axiom, but Aviation Week & Space Technology reporter Irene Klotz tweeted that it is 1:13 pm ET
Falcon 9/Ax-1: With change in targeted launch from March 30 to April 3, the @Axiom_Space crew won’t be getting their 8-hr speedy ride to @Space_Station. New targeted launch time–(pending range availability) — is 1:13 p.m EDT on 4/3, with docking slated for 5:30 a.m. EDT 4/4.
— Irene Klotz (@Free_Space) March 18, 2022
Update, February 2, 2022: NASA announced that the crew members have been approved the ISS partners and launch now is scheduled for March 30 instead of March 31.
Update, January 18-19, 2022: At the NASA Advisory Council Human Exploration and Operations Committee (NAC-HEO) meeting over these two days, NASA officials said this launch has slipped to March 31. Phil McAlister, head of NASA’s commercial division of the Space Operations Mission Directorate, also said this will be the only Private Astronaut Mission to the ISS this year. Ax-2, which was supposed to launch this year, has slipped to 2023.
Update, December 20, 2021: NASA and Axiom announced today the ISS partners have approved this crew to visit the ISS and updated the launch date. It now is scheduled for February 28, 2022, instead of February 21.
Original Entry: SpaceX will launch an all-commercial astronaut crew to the International Space Station for Axiom Space on February 21, 2022. Designated Ax-1, it will carry one Axiom employee who is a retired NASA astronaut and three wealthy individuals who are paying a reported $55 million each for the trip.
The crew is:
- Michael Lopez-Alegria (U.S.), commander, Axiom Space (retired NASA astronaut)
- Larry Connor (U.S.), pilot, entrepreneur and non-profit activist investor
- Mark Pathy (Canada), mission specialist, investor and philanthropist
- Eytan Stibbe (Israel), mission specialist, impact investor and philanthropist