{"id":24114,"date":"2024-01-17T22:02:19","date_gmt":"2024-01-17T14:02:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/axiom-3-launches-multinational-crew-to-orbit-on-way-to-iss-2\/"},"modified":"2024-01-17T22:02:19","modified_gmt":"2024-01-17T14:02:19","slug":"axiom-3-launches-multinational-crew-to-orbit-on-way-to-iss-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/axiom-3-launches-multinational-crew-to-orbit-on-way-to-iss-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Axiom-3 launches multinational crew to orbit on way to ISS"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The private Axiom-3 mission to the International Space Station is now in orbit after a successful launch from LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center. The mission features a crew representing five different countries, four of them wholly or partly in Europe.<\/p>\n<p>Falcon 9 B1080-5 and Crew Dragon C212 Freedom were scheduled to launch from Pad 39A on Wednesday but scrubbed for 24 hours to evaluate data on chute testing, pushing the T-0 to 4:49 p.m. ET. The flight launched after a smooth countdown and beat some approaching weather to send the Axiom-3 crew and the Crew Dragon <em>Freedom <\/em>to orbit.<\/p>\n<p>This flight is the first crewed space mission of 2024, and it waslofted on a trajectory to rendezvous and dock with the ISS. A successful docking at the forward port of the <em>Harmony <\/em>module took place on Saturday morning, Jan. 20, at 5:42 AM EST (10:42 UTC).<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches Axiom Mission 3 Crew to ISS\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/aHYD95rxU-E?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\" name=\"fitvid0\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-14=\"true\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-21=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Following second stage separation, B1080-5 successfully returned to the concrete pad at Landing Zone 1, conducting a return to launch site (RTLS) landing. The recent introduction of RTLS landings for Crew Dragon missions helps minimize the use of marine assets, particularly as the drone ship <em>Just Read the Instructions<\/em> undergoes work in Charleston, South Carolina.<\/p>\n<p>During Crew Dragon\u2019s ascent phase, there are several abort zones designated for the spacecraft to splash down safely should an issue occur during powered flight. Weather for these zones is a watch item for all Crew Dragon flights, and enough zones were usable so that the launch could proceed.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-97722\" class=\"size-full wp-image-97722\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_1495.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"947\" height=\"1244\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_1495.jpeg 947w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_1495-266x350.jpeg 266w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_1495-768x1009.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 947px) 100vw, 947px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-97722\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The L-1 launch weather forecast for the Thursday attempt of Axiom-3. The forecast worsened somewhat before launch but Axiom-3 still launched. (Credit: 45th Weather Squadron)<\/p>\n<p>While the abort zones were being watched, the latest forecast during the countdown prior to Axiom-3\u2019s launch was for a 40 percent chance of launch criteria violation, but the weather stayed good long enough for B1080-5 and Crew Dragon <em>Freedom&nbsp;<\/em>to fly.<\/p>\n<p>     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n<p>The 45th Weather Squadron of the USSF\u2019s 45th Space Launch Delta had earlier come out with a forecast showing only a 20 percent chance of launch criteria violation for Thursday. Primary concerns were the cumulus cloud rule and flight through precipitation.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-93671\" class=\"size-full wp-image-93671\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/FwcBrq1acAAxUiA-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/FwcBrq1acAAxUiA-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/FwcBrq1acAAxUiA-350x233.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/FwcBrq1acAAxUiA-525x350.jpg 525w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/FwcBrq1acAAxUiA-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/FwcBrq1acAAxUiA-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/FwcBrq1acAAxUiA-1170x780.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/FwcBrq1acAAxUiA-585x390.jpg 585w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/FwcBrq1acAAxUiA-263x175.jpg 263w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-93671\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">B1080 and Crew Dragon Freedom sit ready at Launch Complex 39A ahead of Axiom-2 (Credit: SpaceX)<\/p>\n<p>B1080 got its start by flying the Axiom-2 mission, commanded by Peggy Whitson and flying two Saudi Arabian citizens to orbit. The booster has also launched the Euclid space telescope, Starlink 6-11, and Starlink 6-24. Crew Dragon <em>Freedom,&nbsp;<\/em>meanwhile, has flown on the Crew-4 and Axiom-2 missions to ISS.&nbsp;<em>Freedom<\/em> is the fourth Crew Dragon to fly, joining sister ships <em>Endeavour<\/em>, <em>Resilience<\/em>, and <em>Endurance<\/em>.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"widget-title penci-border-arrow\">See Also<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Axiom-3 Updates<\/li>\n<li>ISS Section<\/li>\n<li>L2 SpaceX Section<\/li>\n<li>Click here to Join L2<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The crew for this flight is commanded by dual US and Spanish citizen Michael Lopez-Alegria, a veteran astronaut with multiple Space Shuttle and ISS missions under his belt. His first space flight was STS-73 in 1995 aboard the shuttle <em>Columbia, <\/em>and he also flew aboard STS-92 and STS-113 as well as Soyuz TMA-9 to the ISS as part of Expedition 14.<\/p>\n<p>Lopez-Alegria\u2019s last space mission was the Axiom-1 flight, which was the first wholly private mission to the International Space Station. The retired NASA astronaut, born in Madrid, Spain on May 30, 1958, is now a commercial astronaut working for Axiom, and making his sixth overall spaceflight.<\/p>\n<p>Lopez-Alegria holds a bachelor\u2019s degree in Systems Engineering from the US Naval Academy as well as a master\u2019s degree in aeronautical engineering from the US Naval Postgraduate School. As a naval aviator, he served as an instructor pilot, a reconnaissance plane pilot, and as a test pilot at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-97637\" class=\"size-full wp-image-97637\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_0440-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1406\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_0440-1.png 2500w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_0440-1-350x197.png 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_0440-1-622x350.png 622w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_0440-1-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_0440-1-1920x1080.png 1920w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_0440-1-1170x658.png 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-97637\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Axiom-3 crew portrait. From left to right: Marcus Wandt, Michael Lopez-Alegria, Walter Villadei, Alper Gezeravci. (Credit: Axiom Space)<\/p>\n<p>Axiom-3\u2019s pilot is Italian Air Force Colonel Walter Villadei, who also has experience flying to the edge of space aboard VSS Unity during the Galactic 01 mission last year. Villadei, born in Rome, Italy on April 29, 1974, has served in the Italian Air Force since 1998. In 2008, Villadei underwent cosmonaut training at Star City in Russia, and earned his cosmonaut wings in 2012, while also being certified to operate as a Soyuz flight engineer in 2015.<\/p>\n<p>Col. Villadei has a master\u2019s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Naples Federico II, and a specialization in astronautical engineering from the University of Rome. He became a member of the Air Staff and was assigned to the Air Staff\u2019s Space Policy Office in 2011, and is now the head of the Space Policy and Operations Office. In addition, he is also a member of the Italian Space Agency\u2019s scientific committee.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-97651\" class=\"size-full wp-image-97651\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_1031.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1667\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_1031.jpeg 2500w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_1031-350x233.jpeg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_1031-525x350.jpeg 525w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_1031-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_1031-1920x1280.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_1031-1170x780.jpeg 1170w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_1031-585x390.jpeg 585w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_1031-263x175.jpeg 263w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-97651\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Axiom-3 crew shown in their launch and entry suits that they will wear aboard Crew Dragon Freedom. Freedom can be partially seen just behind the crew. (Credit: Axiom Space)<\/p>\n<p>Mission Specialist Alper Gezeravci has now become the first Turkish citizen to fly to space. Gezeravci, born in Silifke, T\u00fcrkiye in December 1979, is a veteran pilot, having flown high-performance jet aircraft with the Turkish Air Force for 15 years, followed by seven years flying for Turkish Airlines. He also has a bachelor\u2019s degree in electronics engineering from the Turkish Air Force Academy in Istanbul and a master\u2019s degree from the USAF Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.<\/p>\n<p>Rounding out the crew is mission specialist Marcus Wandt from Sweden. Wandt, born in Hammaro, Sweden on Sept. 22, 1980, is representing the European Space Agency (ESA). ESA has dubbed his mission \u201cMuninn\u201d after a raven in Norse mythology. Wandt, who is now the second Swede to fly into space after Shuttle astronaut Christer Fuglesang, will work alongside Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen, currently onboard the Station, whose own mission is known as \u201cHuginn\u201d by ESA, after another raven in Norse mythology.<\/p>\n<p>Wandt was a fighter pilot in the Swedish Air Force from 2003 to 2014 and became a test pilot for Saab Aeronautics after graduating from the United States Naval Test Pilot School. Besides being promoted to chief test pilot at Saab, he also earned a master\u2019s degree in electrical engineering from Chalmers University of Technology.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-97638\" class=\"size-full wp-image-97638\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_0935.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1536\" height=\"820\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_0935.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_0935-350x187.png 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_0935-630x336.png 630w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_0935-768x410.png 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_0935-1170x625.png 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-97638\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Axiom-1 splashes down off the coast of Florida in April 2022. (Credit: Axiom Space)<\/p>\n<p>The Axiom-3 mission is scheduled to last approximately two weeks, while Axiom-1 lasted around 17 days after postponements of its trip home due to bad weather at the splashdown sites. Axiom-2 spanned 10 days, which is currently the shortest such mission to date.<\/p>\n<p>While Axiom-3 is in orbit, there will be 11 people aboard the ISS and three people aboard the Chinese Tiangong Space Station, making a total of 14 people in orbit. If Virgin Galactic\u2019s next flight overlaps with this mission, there would be 20 people above 80 kilometers altitude for a few minutes, tying the record for the most people in space at one time.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-97653\" class=\"size-full wp-image-97653\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_1033.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_1033.png 800w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_1033-350x350.png 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_1033-768x768.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-97653\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Smart Flight Suit 2 is one of the experiments that will be part of the Axiom-3 mission. (Credit: Spacewear SRL)<\/p>\n<p>The crew of Axiom-3 will conduct over 30 experiments during their time aboard the Station, including experiments related to food consumption in space, radiation shielding, ovarian function in microgravity, a Turkish plant experiment involving CRISPR gene editing, biological experiments on the astronauts, and other research.<\/p>\n<p>Once Axiom-3\u2019s stay at the ISS is finished, the spacecraft will return to Earth in the same manner as other Crew Dragon missions and is scheduled to use one of the splashdown sites in the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida.<\/p>\n<p><em>(Lead image: Axiom-3 launch on Jan. 18, 2024 from Pad 39A at KSC. Credit: Sawyer Rosenstein for NSF)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The private Axiom-3 mission to the International Space Station is now in orbit after a successful launch from LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center. The mission features a crew representing five different countries, four of them wholly or partly in Europe. Falcon 9 B1080-5 and Crew Dragon C212 Freedom were scheduled to launch from Pad [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[7841,4384,479,233,766,316],"class_list":["post-24114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-39a","tag-axiom","tag-falcon-9","tag-iss","tag-lc-39a","tag-spacex"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24114"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24114"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24114\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}