(Left) Ax-3 Pilot Walter Villadei, Mission Specialist Alper Gezeravcı, Mission Specialist Marcus Wandt, Commander Michael López-Alegría (Right)
Axiom Space held a virtual press conference with the astronauts of Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) to highlight their mission readiness and objectives. The Ax-3 crew participated from quarantine in Florida, as they make final preparations ahead of their launch on Jan. 17 at 5:11 p.m. ET.
Ax-3 will be the first all-European commercial astronaut mission to launch to the International Space Station (ISS)—redefining the pathway to low-Earth orbit (LEO) and helping chart a course toward Axiom Station, the world’s first commercial space station.
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.
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. 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 their time aboard the orbiting laboratory for 14 days implementing a full mission comprised of microgravity research, technology demonstrations, and outreach engagements.
Click here or below to watch the press conference.