Axiom announces first private launch to ISS

Three members of a private crew will each pay $55 million to spend eight days on the International Space Station, thanks to a Houston company that secured their ride into space and is planning their mission.

Axiom Space announced Tuesday that its first group includes American real estate and technology entrepreneur Larry Connor, 71, Canadian investor Mark Pathy, 51, and Israeli impact investor Eytan Stibbe, 63. Their commander will be former NASA astronaut and Axiom vice president Michael López-Alegría, 62.

The private crew could launch in January 2022 aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. Connor will become the second-oldest person to fly in space, according to the Associated Press. John Glenn flew on the space shuttle in 1998 at 77 years old.

And these microgravity travelers won’t just do somersaults and look out the window. All three are planning research and philanthropic projects.

“Their plan is to be productive and do serious research,” said Derek Hassmann, director of operations and training for Axiom Space.

Axiom Mission 1, Ax-1, will be an early step in Axiom’s plans for lowEarth orbit. The company, founded in 2016, is building a commercial space station — and it plans to develop this station from a 14-acre headquarters campus at the Houston Spaceport. The campus is expected to be functional in 2023.