SpaceX Takes Private Citizens To ISS - Space Race!

Tesla launches first flight crewed by private citizens. Source: Dayton.com (Creative Commons License).

The International Space Station has been the destination of astronauts for years. However, SpaceX has set a record by launching the first private citizen mission to the ISS.

The private crew had four members, forming Axiom Space's Ax-1 mission. The crew departed in a Crew Dragon capsule atop a Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral in Florida. SpaceX reported no hitch in the take-off. However, there was a 30 minutes delay before docking caused by a technical glitch.

Ax-1 was expected to take about 20hrs to reach and dock at the ISS. It was commanded by Michael Lopez-Alegria, a former NASA astronaut who now serves as vice president of Axiom. With him were pilot Larry Connor, a real estate businessman, Eytan Stibbe, an investor and philanthropist, and Mark Pathy, an entrepreneur and philanthropist. Each of the three paid $55 million and served as mission specialists.

'We're happy to be here, even though we're a bit late, and looking forward to the next chapter,' commander López-Alegría said.

SpaceX reported no hitch in the take-off. However, there was a 30 minutes delay before docking caused by a technical glitch.

Shortly after their arrival, Lopez-Alegria decorated the freshly-minted astronauts with their Association of Space Explorers' badges.

Crew Dragon capsule separating from Falcon 9 rocket. Source: CNN (Creative Commons License).

The mission would last ten days, meaning they would spend eight days at the space station. While there, the crew members will take part in more than 25 experiments and an educational outreach program. The experiments cover brain health, cardiac stem cells, cancer, and aging. There were seven astronauts aboard the ISS before the arrival of the Ax-1 mission; three Americans, one German, and three Russians (known as cosmonauts).

SpaceX recovered the Falcon 9's first-stage booster, which landed one of the company's massive drone ships named A Short Fall of Gravitas. The landing took place in the Atlantic Ocean. The booster had launched four missions before. SpaceX has designed its rockets to be at least partially reusable to save launch costs. However, it is in the process of building a completely reusable spacecraft named Starship.

Similarly, the Dragon Crew capsule had been to the ISS twice before.

Axiom Space is based in Houston. Since it was founded in 2016, it has been pursuing the goal of putting a free-flying commercial space station in orbit.

SpaceX and Axiom Space’s Ax-1 mission broadcasted live video footage of the event as well as commentary on the historical moment.

There will be more private flights as Axiom has booked multiple launches with SpaceX.