NASA Moves First-Ever Axiom Ax-1 Crew Launch To ISS; When Is The New Launch Date?

NASA and SpaceX have set a new launch date for the International Space Station mission that will carry four people to the station. The revised launch date is from March 30 to April 3.

The crew of Axiom Mission 1 will travel to and from the space station on Dragon Endeavour. The astronauts will splash down off the coast of Florida after a few days in orbit.

News4Jax said Axiom Mission 1 is the first private mission to the International Space Station. The team will undertake cutting-edge research and experimentation for hospitals and technological businesses.

Axiom & @SpaceX are now targeting no earlier than April 3 – pending range availability – for launch of the #Ax1 mission to the @Space_Station. The new targeted launch date will allow teams to complete final spacecraft processing ahead of the mission. https://t.co/byhFRcrtwz
— Axiom Space (@Axiom_Space) March 18, 2022

NASA, Axiom Pushes Back Launches

The launch has been put back to April 3 at the earliest, according to Axiom, to allow crews to finish final spacecraft preparation before the voyage. But Space.com said Crew-4, which had hoped to launch on April 15, has been delayed due to this change.

"The current no-earlier-than launch date is Tuesday, April 19, pending completion of program reviews expected early next week to formalize the new target," NASA officials wrote in an update today.

They noted that the additional time will "enable proper spacing for operations and post-flight data assessments between human spaceflight missions and numerous consecutive launch attempts depending on orbital mechanics for arrival to the space station."

.@NASA and @SpaceX are now targeting no earlier than April 19 for the launch of the #Crew4 mission to the @Space_Station.

Get the details: https://t.co/gTSbmmZQp9 pic.twitter.com/F0JWcqZFMQ
— NASA Commercial Crew (@Commercial_Crew) March 18, 2022

ALSO READ : Ax-1 Mission to Launch on March 30 and Become the First All-Private Crewed Flight to ISS

Axiom Taps SpaceX To Travel To ISS

The Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1) will use SpaceX's Dragon Endeavour spacecraft to travel to and from the International Space Station, Fox35 Orlando said. The Ax-1 mission will take out from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

Crew-4 will ferry an international crew of four astronauts to the orbital complex for a scientific expedition mission on a new Dragon spacecraft and flight-proven Falcon 9 rocket.

NASA, Partners Approve Axiom Mission 1 Crew — Axiom Mission 1 astronauts Michael López-Alegría, Larry Connor, Mark Pathy and Eytan Stibbe cleared medical evaluations and are approved by the Multilateral Crew Operations Panel. Both are important steps with international partners as NASA and Axiom continue work for the first private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. Launch is now targeted for Monday, Feb. 28, 2022. From left to right: pilot Larry Connor, mission commander Michael López-Alegría, mission specialist Mark Pathy, and mission specialist Eytan Stibbe. Axiom Space via NASA

(Photo: Axiom Space via NASA)
Axiom Mission 1 astronauts Michael López-Alegría, Larry Connor, Mark Pathy and Eytan Stibbe cleared medical evaluations and are approved by the Multilateral Crew Operations Panel. Both are important steps with international partners as NASA and Axiom continue work for the first private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. Launch is now targeted for Monday, Feb. 28, 2022. From left to right: pilot Larry Connor, mission commander Michael López-Alegría, mission specialist Mark Pathy, and mission specialist Eytan Stibbe.

The crew is comprised of Commander Kjell Lindgren, Pilot Robert Hines, and Mission Specialists Samantha Cristoforetti and Jessica Watkins. Hines, Watkins, and Lindgren are NASA astronauts, while Cristoforetti is a European Space Agency astronaut.

Ax-1 is the first in a series of crewed space station flights that Axiom aims to launch with SpaceX in the coming years. However, it will not be SpaceX's first all-private astronaut trip; that honor belongs to Inspiration4, which launched four people into Earth orbit on a free-flying, three-day mission in September.

According to Click Orlando, the Houston-based private spaceflight facilitator Ax-1 is a pathfinder mission that will pave the way for "Axiom Station." That would be the world's first commercial space station, which is already in the works.

Following the success of the Demo-2, Crew-1, and Crew-2 trips using Crew Dragon capsules, Axiom Space signed a contract with NASA in May 2021 to make private ISS missions a reality, and then signed a deal with SpaceX in June to charter three such flights.