Axiom Mission crew 4, or AX-4, will go on board SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to International Space Station from Kennedy NASA Space Center in Florida not earlier 2025 year. Left to right: Tibar Kap from Hungary, ISRO (Indian Space) Astronavt Shabshu Guzla, Former NASA Astronaut Peggy Witon and ESA Astronaut Slavosh Uznanski-Vyshnevsky from Poland.
NASA and its international partners have confirmed the crew for the fourth private mission of Axiom Space astronauts to the International Space Station, which will launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida no earlier than spring 2025 year.
Peggy Whitson, former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, will manage the commercial mission, and ISRO astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will act as pilot. The two mission specialists are ESA astronaut Slavosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary.
"I am pleased to see the continued interest and commitment to private astronaut missions aboard the International Space Station", - Dana Weigel said, program manager for NASA's International Space Station at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. “As NASA looks to low Earth orbit in the future, private astronaut missions help pave the way and expand access to the unique environment of microgravity".
Axiom Mission crew 4 or Ax-4 will launch aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and travel to the space station. After docking, private astronauts plan to spend to 14 days on board the orbital laboratory, carrying out a mission, which includes scientific, informational and commercial activities. The mission will send ISRO's first astronaut to the station as part of a joint effort between NASA and the Indian Space Agency. The private mission will also deliver the first astronauts from Poland and Hungary, which will remain aboard the space station.
The first private mission of astronauts to the station, Axiom Mission 1, started in April 2022 year for a 17-day mission aboard the orbital laboratory. The second private mission of astronauts to the station, Axiom Mission 2, was also under the command of Whitson launched in May 2023 year with four private astronauts, which spent eight days in orbit. The last private mission of the astronauts, Axiom Mission 3, started in January 2024 year.
The space station is a bridgehead for the development of the Earth's low-orbit economy. NASA's goal is to achieve a strong economy in low Earth orbit, where the agency can purchase services as one of many clients to achieve its science and research goals in microgravity. NASA's Commercial Low Earth Orbit Strategy Will Provide Government with Reliable, Safe Services at Lower Cost, allowing the agency to focus on Artemis missions to the Moon in preparation for Mars, and continue to use low Earth orbit as a training and testing ground for deep space missions.