Ax-1 Crew Reaches ISS, Welcomed By Expedition 67 Members
The Expedition 67 crew members welcomed the Axiom Mission 1 astronauts, who will stay aboard the orbital laboratory for eight days.
New Delhi: Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1) astronauts Michael López-Alegría, Larry Connor, Eytan Stibbe, and Mark Pathy have reached the International Space Station (ISS).
The Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft, which carried the Ax-1 crew to the space station, docked into the Harmony module of the orbital laboratory on Saturday, April 9, at 8:29 am EDT (5:59 pm IST). While docking, the astronauts were flying about 260 miles above the central Atlantic Ocean.
Docking confirmed! pic.twitter.com/YPyF3aRwO7
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 9, 2022
Axiom Mission 1 is the first mission with an entirely private crew to arrive at the space station. It is also the first crewed mission of Houston-based aerospace firm Axiom Space.
ALSO READ | Ax-1: All About The First All-Private Astronaut Mission To The Space Station
Docking was delayed by approximately 45 minutes due to some technical glitches in the camera of the docking port.
After docking, NASA astronaut and space station commander Thomas Marshburn pressurised the space between the Crew Dragon spacecraft and the orbital outpost, and performed a leak check before opening the hatches.
Crew Dragon's hatch opening was completed at 10:13 am EDT (7:43 pm IST).
The Expedition 67 crew members, including NASA astronauts Marshburn, Raja Chari, and Kayla Barron, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Matthias Maurer, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev, Sergey Korsakov, and Denis Matveev, welcomed the Axiom Mission 1 astronauts, who will stay aboard the orbital laboratory for eight days.
#Ax1 crew welcomed by the @space_station crews as they leave Dragon and enter into their home for the next 8 days pic.twitter.com/ewgYizC2Kv
— Axiom Space (@Axiom_Space) April 9, 2022
With the Ax-1 crew joining the Expedition 67 crew members, the population on the space station is now 11.
Happening Now: @Space_Station crew welcomes #Ax1 astronauts onboard.https://t.co/GE1akwmM01 pic.twitter.com/Ybut6Dusjo
— Axiom Space (@Axiom_Space) April 9, 2022
During the welcome ceremony on the space station, Ax-1 Commander López-Alegría pinned his crewmates with a Association of Space Explorers (ASE) pin, signifying their newly earned status as astronauts, Axiom Space said in a mission update.
During the @Space_Station Welcome Ceremony, #Ax1 @CommanderMLA pinned his crewmates with a @ASE_Astronauts pin, signifying their newly earned status as astronauts.
— Axiom Space (@Axiom_Space) April 9, 2022
Watch the ceremony: https://t.co/kabWmQkTNF
Read more: https://t.co/UmN66JQOFQ
The four Ax-1 astronauts aim to distinguish themselves as much as possible from space tourists by performing research activities and philanthropic projects on the space station.
ALSO READ | Ax-1: A Former NASA Astronaut & 3 Philanthropists Make History With First All-Private Mission To ISS
The astronauts will conduct approximately 25 experiments focused on human research, life and physical sciences, technology demonstrations, and Earth observations which will expand microgravity research to new sectors.
By conducting these experiments, the astronauts will collect data which could improve the understanding of human physiology on Earth and in orbit. Also, the findings will establish the utility of novel technologies that could be used for future human spaceflight activities.
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