Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3), the first all-European commercial astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS), successfully launched today on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Ax-3 crew is now in orbit following a 4:49 p.m. ET liftoff. The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is anticipated to dock to the space-facing port of the ISS Harmony module as early as 4:19 a.m. ET on Jan. 20.
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 (ESA).
During their planned 14-day mission, the Ax-3 crew will live and work aboard the orbiting laboratory conducting more than 30 experiments and more than 50 outreach engagements. Human research data collected on the ground before and after the mission, as well as in flight, will improve understanding of human physiology on Earth and in microgravity. Furthermore, this mission will harness opportunities for industrial advancements and technological development to drive discovery off the planet.
Notably, Ax-3 spotlights European nations as pioneers of the emerging commercial space industry, as the crew boldly positions their governments and space agencies as future leaders and customers in LEO. Ax-3 will be the first commercial spaceflight mission made up of government and ESA-sponsored national astronauts. Mission Specialist Alper Gezeravcı will be the first-ever Turkish astronaut and Mission Specialist Marcus Wandt will be the first ESA astronaut to fly on a commercial space mission.
Ax-3 is the third of several proposed Axiom Space human spaceflight missions, and a critical step along the journey toward Axiom Station, the world’s first commercial space station.
The Ax-3 live webcast for docking will begin at 2:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, Jan. 20. Watch the crew arrive at the ISS live at axiomspace.com, spacex.com/launches, x.com/@SpaceX, NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. The Ax-3 webcast will cover the vehicle’s approach and docking through crew arrival on the space station, where they will be greeted by NASA’s Expedition crew during an arrival ceremony and officially begin the Ax-3 mission on board.
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