Longer Than Expected: All-Private SpaceX Crew Leaving ISS After Week-Long Delay (cnn.com) 21
After startup Axiom Space brokered the first visit to the Space Station by an all-private crew, the AX-1 mission turned into a "longer-than-expected" stay, reports CNN. It launched on April 8 and "was originally billed as a 10-day mission," CNN notes, "but delays have extended the mission by about a week."
The four crew members — Michael López-Alegría, a former NASA astronaut-turned-Axiom employee who is commanding the mission; Israeli businessman Eytan Stibbe; Canadian investor Mark Pathy; and Ohio-based real estate magnate Larry Connor — are slated to leave the space station aboard their SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule on Sunday at 8:55 pm ET. That's another 24-hour delay from what NASA and Axiom were targeting on Saturday. They now plan to spend a day free flying through orbit before plummeting back into the atmosphere and parachuting to a splashdown landing off the coast of Florida at about 1 pm ET Monday, according to a tweet from Kathy Lueders, the head of NASA's human spaceflight program...
During their first 12 days on the space station, the group stuck to a regimented schedule, which included about 14 hours per day of activities, including scientific research that was designed by various research hospitals, universities, tech companies and more. They also spent time doing outreach events by video conferencing with children and students. The weather delays then afforded to them "a bit more time to absorb the remarkable views of the blue planet and review the vast amount of work that was successfully completed during the mission," according to Axiom....
It's not the first time paying customers or otherwise non-astronauts have visited the ISS, as Russia has sold seats on its Soyuz spacecraft to various wealthy thrill seekers in years past. But AX-1 is the first mission with a crew entirely comprised of private citizens with no active members of a government astronaut corps accompanying them in the capsule during the trip to and from the ISS. It's also the first time private citizens have traveled to the ISS on a US-made spacecraft.
During their first 12 days on the space station, the group stuck to a regimented schedule, which included about 14 hours per day of activities, including scientific research that was designed by various research hospitals, universities, tech companies and more. They also spent time doing outreach events by video conferencing with children and students. The weather delays then afforded to them "a bit more time to absorb the remarkable views of the blue planet and review the vast amount of work that was successfully completed during the mission," according to Axiom....
It's not the first time paying customers or otherwise non-astronauts have visited the ISS, as Russia has sold seats on its Soyuz spacecraft to various wealthy thrill seekers in years past. But AX-1 is the first mission with a crew entirely comprised of private citizens with no active members of a government astronaut corps accompanying them in the capsule during the trip to and from the ISS. It's also the first time private citizens have traveled to the ISS on a US-made spacecraft.
That's nothing (Score:5, Funny)
I knew a group of people - I think there were seven of them - who intended to go for a really short trip (something like three hours)... but they ended up staying on an island for several years.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:That's nothing (Score:4, Funny)
That's nothing... I knew a group of people - I think there were seven of them - who intended to go for a really short trip (something like three hours)... but they ended up staying on an island for several years.
And then later on they eventually blasted off in a home-made rocket. And got stuck on their own planet.... [youtube.com]
Re: (Score:2)
That's awesome - I never knew about that!
Re: (Score:2)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
Re: (Score:2)
I hope you were moderated Funny before the tour boat was lost in Japan. Probably 26 dead, though they've only recovered four bodies so far.
From pictures of the boat they had no business being at sea in 3-meter waves. The captain has probably paid for his mistake, but I think they need to investigate the entire situation to see if the company that owned the boats (at least one other) did anything to encourage the fatal mistake.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Body count is up to 10. But at the same time, you have to admit that it's minor compared to what's happening in Ukraine involving that same Russia as the story features...
My angry tweet of the day (seasoned with attempted humor):
@JoeBiden MUST boost US wheat production ASAP to prevent ANOTHER Russian famine in #Ukraine.
@ZelenskyyUa : "Shut up, Vlad. You lost. Now get out of OUR Ukraine."
How do you say #RememberMariupol in Ukrainian?
Bozo Putin : "Is not war crimes. Is potato."
I doubt the meme can propagate fast enough to do any good, especially in a country full of obstructionists... But maybe Canada can ramp up their production enough?
Compensation for the delay? (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah, or perhaps some of the world's smartest people at SpaceX thought about that, and simply told those billionaires to clear their calendars for another week, "just in case", because this delay perhaps wasn't one at all, and the exciting kicker of an extra orbit around the planet before splashing down, is going to be worth every bit of the publicity it's going to get.
On the flip side of that coin, suing SpaceX would probably be the fastest way to be blacklisted from commercial space flight. You're too m
Private module for ISS? (Score:2)
Would be nice to see a private module attached to the ISS for the remainder of its life, and migrated into a new station afterwards.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Private module for ISS? (Score:4, Informative)
[The Axiom Orbital Segment] will be separated from the ISS to become its own modular space station, Axiom Station, after the ISS is decommissioned.
Re: (Score:2)
Thanks. I checked Axium's website and didn't notice that it would initially be paired with ISS.
forced to stay up an extra week?? (Score:2)
Yah, I know that I'd be pissed off if I were forced to spend an extra week in the ISS.
In a "don't throw me in that there briar patch" sort of way, of course.
It'll be different in a few years, of course. Starship won't have to do the splashdown thing, so dodging weather won't be a problem, I think. Maybe a hurricane would be a problem, maybe not, but anything short of that should be trivially avoidable.
Re: (Score:1)
Yea. It's all fun and games (Score:2)
until someone dies or gets sick (can't get their medication) or or or or or or...
Checkout time is 11am (Score:2)
Honestly, I don't think we as taxpayers built the ISS to be a tourist hotel. Yes, these billionaires did "sciency" things but still it's a research platform that's been funded by taxpayers. If anything, it's an inappropriate use for a research facility.