(Left) Ax-3 Mission Specialist Marcus Wandt, Pilot Walter Villadei, Commander Michael López-Alegría, Mission Specialist Alper Gezeravcı (Right)
Today, Axiom Space successfully completed its internal Flight Readiness Review (FRR) for the Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3), moving the crew one step closer to their Jan. 17 launch. The review evaluated company and crew readiness in support of the first all-European commercial astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Ax-3 crew aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to the ISS from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 17 at 5:11 p.m. ET. The crew will dock to the space station at approximately 5:15 a.m. ET on Jan. 19. Once docked, the Ax-3 astronauts plan to spend 14 days aboard the orbiting laboratory implementing a full mission comprised of microgravity research, technology demonstrations, and outreach engagements.
The Ax-3 crewmembers are Commander Michael López-Alegría of the U.S. and Spain, Pilot Walter Villadei of the Italian Air Force, and Mission Specialists Alper Gezeravcı of Türkiye and Marcus Wandt of Sweden and the European Space Agency.
The next mission milestone will be the Launch Readiness Review (LRR) on Tuesday, Jan. 16 with leaders from Axiom Space, NASA, and SpaceX. During the LRR, participants will discuss the Falcon 9 and Dragon spacecraft, mission hardware, and readiness for launch. Approximately one hour after the conclusion of that review, the team will hold a pre-launch media teleconference to answer any final questions from the press prior to the mission. More details to follow when available.