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may 10, 2021 - NASA

NASA, Axiom Space to Host Media Briefing on Private Astronaut Mission

NASA and Axiom Space have signed a mission order for the first private astronaut mission to the International Space Station and will host a teleconference with media at 11 a.m. EDT on Monday, May 10, to discuss more details about the mission.

Audio of the teleconference will be streamed live online at: 

http://www.nasa.gov/live

NASA has opened up the space station for commercial activities, including private astronaut missions, as part of its plan to develop a robust and competitive economy in low-Earth orbit. NASA’s needs in low-Earth orbit – such as human research, technology development, and in-flight crew testing – will continue after the retirement of the International Space Station. Commercial industry will help meet these needs by providing destinations and transportation capabilities to continue these services as part of a broader low-Earth orbit economy. Enabling private astronaut missions to the station is an important step to stimulate demand for commercial human spaceflight services so that #nasa can be one of many customers in low-Earth orbit.

The spaceflight, named Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1), is scheduled to launch no earlier than January 2022 for an eight-day mission aboard the orbiting complex. The Axiom Space crew will launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Teleconference participants are:

  • Phil McAlister, director, commercial spaceflight development, #nasa Headquarters
  • Angela Hart, manager, commercial low-Earth orbit development, NASA’s Johnson Space Center
  • Dana Weigel, deputy manager, International Space Station, Johnson
  • Michael Suffredini, president and CEO, Axiom Space
  • Michael López-Alegría, vice president and Ax-1 commander, Axiom Space

Media may ask questions via phone only. For the dial-in number and passcode, please email Stephanie Schierholz no later than 10 a.m. Monday, May 10, at: stephanie.schierholz@nasa.gov.

For more than 20 years, #nasa has supported a continuous U.S. human presence in low-Earth orbit. The agency's goal is a low-Earth orbit marketplace where #nasa is one of many customers, and the private sector leads the way. This strategy will provide services the government needs at a lower cost, enabling the agency to focus on its Artemis missions to the Moon and on to Mars while continuing to use low-Earth orbit as a training and proving ground for those deep space missions.

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