SpaceX launches the Axiom Ax-1, the first private crew to the ISS, $55 million each per seat.
Axiom private mission takes Chief NASA Astronaut and three tourist/researchers to space.
April 8, 2022; A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket (Booster; B1067.5) launched the Crew Dragon Endeavor C206 spacecraft, for Axiom Space's Ax-1 mission to the International Space Station, from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, today at 15:17 UTC (11 :17 EDT). The crew includes commander Michael López-Alegría, pilot Larry Connor and mission specialists Eytan Stibbe and Mark Pathy. Endeavor C206 is scheduled to dock with the space station's PMA-3 Zenith(Space facing port) tomorrow, April 9, at around 10:45 UTC (06:45 EDT). Following the stage separation, the first stage 'core' of Falcon 9 (B1062) landed on the droneship “A Shortfall of Gravitas”, stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. Falcon 9's first stage (B1062) previously flew five missions: GPS III Space Vehicle 04 (GPS III SV04), GPS III SV05, Inspiration4 and a batch of Starlink satellites.
The pre-launch press previously claimed that Connor, Stibbe and Pathy paid $55 million each for the opportunity to go to the ISS. Lopez-Alegria flies at the expense of Axiom Space, of which he is vice president and chief astronaut. It is expected that after docking the spacecraft with the ISS, scheduled for 7:45 am EDT on Saturday, the crew will remain aboard the space station for eight days.
