“We sought to put together a crew for this historic mission that had demonstrated a lifelong commitment to improving the lives of the people on Earth, and I’m glad to say we’ve done that with this group,” Axiom Space President & CEO Michael Suffredini said. Stibbe plans to conduct scientific experiments of Israeli researchers and entrepreneurs coordinated by the Ramon Foundation and the Israel Space Agency at the Ministry of Science & Technology and to undertake educational activities from orbit to inspire Israeli children, youth, and educators. Pathy is collaborating with the Canadian Space Agency as well as the Montreal Children’s Hospital, who are helping identify health-related research projects that could be undertaken during the mission. He also intends to provide instructional lessons to students at Dayton Early College Academy in his hometown of Dayton, Ohio. segment of the ISS for approximately eight days, participating in research and philanthropic projects.Ĭonnor, who has founded and led organizations in the real estate, fintech, and non-profit sectors, will collaborate with Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic on research projects.

The proposed Ax-1 mission will include the crew living aboard the U.S. Carrying a time-honored approach over from the civil spaceflight era to the private one, the prime and backup crews are slated to go through Axiom’s full training program together. “I look forward to leading this crew and to their next meaningful and productive contributions to the human story, both on orbit and back home.”įormer NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson will serve as Ax-1’s backup commander, while John Shoffner of Knoxville, Tenn. And as much as any astronaut who has come before them, the members of this crew have accomplished the sorts of things in life that equip them to accept that responsibility, act on that revelation, and make a truly global impact. “I know from firsthand experience that what humans encounter in space is profound and propels them to make more meaningful contributions on returning to Earth. “This collection of pioneers – the first space crew of its kind – represents a defining moment in humanity’s eternal pursuit of exploration and progress,” López-Alegría said. Stibbe, a close personal friend of Columbia astronaut Ilan Ramon and a former Israeli Air Force pilot, will be Israel’s second. Connor will be the first private mission pilot in the annals of spaceflight. López-Alegría, who flew to space four times over a 20-year, record-setting career at NASA and last visited the ISS in 2007, will become the first person to ever command both a civil and a commercial human spaceflight mission. The proposed historic Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1) will consist of: former NASA astronaut and Axiom vice president Michael López-Alegría as commander American entrepreneur and non-profit activist investor Larry Connor as pilot Canadian investor and philanthropist Mark Pathy and impact investor and philanthropist Eytan Stibbe of Israel. HOUSTON – Axiom Space on Tuesday announced its crew for humankind’s first flight of a group of private individuals to a Low Earth Orbit destination – the first-ever entirely private mission proposed to fly to the International Space Station (ISS).

26 January 2021 Axiom Space reveals historic first private crew to visit International Space Station

Private space crew