The first private crew of astronauts has returned from the International Space Station (ISS).
Michael Lopez-Allegria, Larry Connor, Eitan Stibe and Mark Patty are not employed by the government, but are part of Axiom Space Inc.’s Ax-1 mission. Lopez-Allegria is a former NASA astronaut with four previous space flights under his belt: three on the space shuttle and one on the ISS on a Soyuz rocket. He is the chief astronaut of Axiom.
The three businessmen and the former NASA astronaut scattered off the coast of Florida. Photo: SpaceX / AFP / Getty
The other three are customers and have paid approximately $ 55 million (£ 44 million) each for a place on the mission. They launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida, on April 8 on top of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and were due to return on April 18. However, delays due to weather concerns delayed their flights and they did not disperse until 25 April.
The Texas company Axiom Space was founded in 2016 and aims to launch, operate and equip the world’s first commercial space station. Construction is underway, with the first elements expected to be ready for release sometime after 2024.
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