First Private Mission To Space Station Takes Off From FloridaThe first private mission to the
International Space Station took off at 11:17 a.m. ET on Friday from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center, carrying three tourists in a
SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule in a flight arranged by the company Axiom Space.
The mission, called AX-1, is led by
Michael Lopez-Alegría, 63, a former NASA astronaut, who is shepherding three customers:
Larry Connor, 72, an Ohio real estate mogul;
Mark Pathy, 52, founder and CEO of Montreal-based family office Mavrik Corp; and
Eytan Stibbe, 64, an Israeli businessman.
They are expected to arrive at the space station, some 250 miles above Earth, in
28 hours.
During the
10-day trip the tourists will participate in
scientific research – aging in space and stem cell experiments — and technology demonstrations.
They will live with the regular crew at the space station.
