Luxurious Escape: A Trip to the International Space Station
A joint project of Axiom Space and SpaceX that’s totally out of this world
Visiting the space is no longer a dream. It has become a reality. Axiom Space is letting three passengers enjoy a unique journey to the International Space Station. It will be a round trip, and for that, one will have to shell out USD 55 (AUD 83.32) million.
Axiom Space has signed a contract with SpaceX for a unique Crew Dragon flight that will transport three private passengers along with a commander trained by Axiom. The price for the trip to the International Space Station is low when compared to the SpaceX rocket launch that costs 1 (AUD 1.51) million per booking which was announced before.
The mission by Axiom and SpaceX (Elon Musk owns that) will be launched in the second half of next year and will let three people live onboard the International Space Station. They will get to “experience at least eight days of microgravity and views of the Earth that can only be appreciated in the large, venerable station,” says a statement by the company.
The Chief Executive of the company, Michael Suffredini, previously worked as a Manager of the International Space Station for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. So, the new trip is not much of a surprise there. He said in a statement, “This history-making flight will represent a watershed moment in the march toward universal and routine access to space. This will be just the first of many missions to ISS to be completely crewed and managed by Axiom Space – a first for a commercial entity. Procuring the transportation marks significant progress toward that goal, and we’re glad to be working with SpaceX in this effort.”
This unique trip will be the first among many such missions to the Space Station that are planned as per the Space Act Agreement Axiom which was signed with NASA. Discussions regarding establishing agreements for several other private astronaut missions to the International Space Station are also in the works.
Axiom is planning two such flights every year and is also working on creating its own space station that will be funded by investors. Starbridge Venture and Balfour Capital are among those investors.
The trip will be different from a quick jaunt into orbit as a passenger will get an all-inclusive stay on the International Space Station. It will also likely be better than the Crew Dragon Capsule that was in the news recently.
