Tomorrow Ax-1, the first special mission aboard the space station – space and astronomy

Launching tomorrow, the Ax-1 is the first special mission directed to the International Space Station (ISS) that will pave the way for Axium’s private space station in Texas. The launch is scheduled for 17:17 Italian time from platform 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a few hundred meters from where the massive SLS (Space Launch System) rocket is still located. Since 2009, no two missiles have been seen side-by-side on a US base.

After a series of delays due to delays in tests of an SLS rocket intended to return humans to the Moon as part of the Artemis program, the debut of Axiom, a company set to play a leading role in the space sector, is nearing.

TheFounded in 2006, Texan aims to be the first to own and operate a space station, and with the Ax-1, aboard the Crew Dragon capsule, it will send its first crew to the International Space Station for 8 days. The expedition will be led by ex-NASA astronaut Michael Lopez Alegria, a veteran who has done 4 missions and 10 ‘walks’ in space behind him, the other three are instead of ‘civilians’ who paid $55 million but, Unlike many ‘tourists’. Those who have preceded them over the years will have to work on 25 science experiments, including some dedicated to studying the effects of spaceflight on aging.

To well represent the increase in space programs in recent years come images of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that will take the Ax-1 into orbit waiting on Platform 39A just 2,700 SLs on Platform 39B. The first time, since 2009, two missiles are waiting at the same time in the same launch complex. In a few days, perhaps on April 20, this will also be the time of Crew-4, always with the Falcon 9, also with Italian astronaut for the European Space Agency (ESA) Samantha Cristoforetti on board the plane that will go to the International Space Station for a long-term mission.