Brigadier General James Monroe Williams

"Ax-3" redirects here. For other topics, see AX3.

Axiom Mission 3 (or Ax-3) was a private spaceflight to the International Space Station. The flight launched on 18 January 2024,[1] and lasted for 21 days, successfully splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean.[3] It was operated by Axiom Space and used a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.[4] The booster, B1080, had previously flown Axiom-2, among other high-profile missions.[5]

Crew

All four crewmembers have backgrounds as military pilots.[6] Michael López-Alegría was the commander as an employee of Axiom; Walter Villadei from the Italian Air Force was the mission pilot.[7] The mission specialists were Alper Gezeravcı who was the first astronaut from Turkey;[8][9] and Swedish project astronaut Marcus Wandt ("project astronaut" is ESA's designation for an astronaut assigned to a project), who was the first member of the 2022 European Space Agency Astronaut Group to receive a spaceflight mission. It was also the first commercial spaceflight mission for an ESA sponsored astronaut.[10] Wandt's component of the mission is called "Muninn"[11][12] as it overlaps with fellow Scandinavian ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen's mission – "Huginn".[13]

Prime crew
Position Astronaut
Spacecraft commander United States / Spain Michael López-Alegría, Axiom Space
Sixth spaceflight
Pilot Italy Walter Villadei, AM
Second spaceflight
Mission Specialist 1 Turkey Alper Gezeravcı, TSA
First spaceflight
Mission Specialist 2 Sweden Marcus Wandt, SNSA / ESA
First spaceflight

Backup crew

Position Astronaut
Spacecraft commander United States Peggy Whitson, Axiom Space
Mission Specialist Turkey Tuva Cihangir Atasever, TSA

Mission

The crew lifted off on a Falcon 9 from LC-39A Florida to dock with the International Space Station for an intended mission duration of approximately two weeks.[14] Final mission duration was 21 days; mission ended with a splashdown into the Atlantic Ocean on 9 February 2024.

Gallery

Axiom Mission 3
  • Launch of Axiom-3
    Launch of Axiom-3
  • Axiom-3 approaching the ISS
    Axiom-3 approaching the ISS
  • Axiom-3 docked to the ISS
    Axiom-3 docked to the ISS


References

  1. ^ a b "Falcon 9 Block 5 - Axiom Mission 3 (AX-3)". Next Spaceflight. December 9, 2023. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  2. ^ "Ax-3 Docks to Station Aboard Dragon Spacecraft - Space Station". NASA. January 20, 2024. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
  3. ^ "NASA Selects Axiom Space for Third Private Astronaut Station Mission". NASA (Press release). March 14, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  4. ^ "Axiom and SpaceX sign blockbuster deal". Axiom Space. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
  5. ^ Jones, Caleb. "Space Launch Now - B1080". Space Launch Now. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
  6. ^ Foust, Jeff (October 18, 2023). "Axiom Space refines training for next private astronaut mission". SpaceNews. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  7. ^ Space, Air Force and Axiom agreements on the Ax-3 mission
  8. ^ Roulette, Joey (September 21, 2022). "Exclusive: Saudi Arabia buys pair of SpaceX astronaut seats from Axiom -sources". Reuters. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
  9. ^ Pons, Juan (September 28, 2022). "Saudi Arabia and Turkey compete to get a woman astronaut into orbit as soon as possible". Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  10. ^ "Axiom Space Announces Astronauts for Third Mission to ISS". Axiom Space. September 12, 2023. Retrieved September 12, 2023.
  11. ^ "Muninn mission patch and name". European Space Agency. June 16, 2023. Retrieved June 16, 2023..
  12. ^ "Muninn Launch kit" (PDF). European Space Agency. November 2023. Retrieved January 8, 2024..
  13. ^ "The Huginn mission – an overview". www.esa.int. Retrieved September 12, 2023.
  14. ^ Axiom Space refines training for next private astronaut mission, 18 October 2023.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axiom_Mission_3