First Private Astronaut Crew Launches to Space Station
2022-04-09
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1An astronaut crew of private citizens has launched to the International Space Station (ISS).
2The launch happened Friday morning from Florida's Kennedy Space Center.
3The flight is the first to be organized and operated by a private company involving a completely commercial astronaut crew.
4The four-member team will travel to the ISS inside a Crew Dragon Endeavor spacecraft built by American company SpaceX.
5The spacecraft will be carried into space by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
6It is expected to arrive at the ISS about 28 hours after the launch.
7The crew members are from the private company Axiom Space, based in Houston, Texas.
8The group is led by retired NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria.
9The mission is called Ax-1.
10The 63-year-old Lopez-Alegria is described as the mission commander.
11He is Axiom's vice president of business development.
12Lopez-Alegria will be joined by the mission pilot, Larry Conner, a businessman and private pilot from Ohio.
13Conner is in his 70s, but the company did not provide his exact age.
14The other members of the crew are 64-year-old Israeli fighter pilot Eytan Stibbe and 52-year-old Mark Pathy, a Canadian businessman.
15Stibbe and Pathy will serve as mission specialists.
16The private crew is expected to spend eight days aboard the orbiting ISS.
17NASA said it will cooperate with Axiom mission officials to plan joint activities involving the Axiom team and regular ISS crew members.
18Currently, there are three American astronauts aboard the ISS, along with a German astronaut and three Russian cosmonauts.
19The launch is being praised by Axiom, NASA and industry officials as a turning point in the latest expansion of commercial space activities.
20Such activities have become known in the industry as the low-Earth orbit economy, or the "LEO economy."
21In 2020, SpaceX became the first private company to launch astronauts into Earth's orbit.
22That mission sent two astronauts to the ISS. SpaceX has since completed several similar flights.
23The latest mission's crew might seem similar to private space tourists who recently took space rides that did not reach orbit.
24Those services are offered by private companies Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic.
25The trips aim to fly private citizens to the edge of space and permit them to experience weightlessness and observe Earth.
26But Axiom executives said their mission is very different.
27"We are not space tourists," Lopez-Alegria told a recent news conference.
28He added that the Axiom team had completed intense astronaut training with both NASA and SpaceX.
29The Ax-1 team will be carrying equipment and supplies for 26 science and technology experiments.
30They include research in areas including brain and heart health, cancer and aging.
31In the past, the ISS has accepted some visits by private citizens.
32But the current mission will mark the first all-commercial team of astronauts sent to use the station for its purpose as an orbiting laboratory.
33Axiom's co-founder and executive chairman, Kam Ghaffarian, told Reuters he sees the launch as "the beginning of many beginnings for commercializing low-Earth orbit."
34He added: "We're like in the early days of the internet, and we haven't even imagined all the possibilities, all the capabilities, that we're going to be providing in space."
35I'm Bryan Lynn.
1An astronaut crew of private citizens has launched to the International Space Station (ISS). 2The launch happened Friday morning from Florida's Kennedy Space Center. The flight is the first to be organized and operated by a private company involving a completely commercial astronaut crew. 3The four-member team will travel to the ISS inside a Crew Dragon Endeavor spacecraft built by American company SpaceX. The spacecraft will be carried into space by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. It is expected to arrive at the ISS about 28 hours after the launch. 4The crew members are from the private company Axiom Space, based in Houston, Texas. The group is led by retired NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria. The mission is called Ax-1. 5The 63-year-old Lopez-Alegria is described as the mission commander. He is Axiom's vice president of business development. Lopez-Alegria will be joined by the mission pilot, Larry Conner, a businessman and private pilot from Ohio. Conner is in his 70s, but the company did not provide his exact age. 6The other members of the crew are 64-year-old Israeli fighter pilot Eytan Stibbe and 52-year-old Mark Pathy, a Canadian businessman. Stibbe and Pathy will serve as mission specialists. 7The private crew is expected to spend eight days aboard the orbiting ISS. NASA said it will cooperate with Axiom mission officials to plan joint activities involving the Axiom team and regular ISS crew members. Currently, there are three American astronauts aboard the ISS, along with a German astronaut and three Russian cosmonauts. 8The launch is being praised by Axiom, NASA and industry officials as a turning point in the latest expansion of commercial space activities. Such activities have become known in the industry as the low-Earth orbit economy, or the "LEO economy." 9In 2020, SpaceX became the first private company to launch astronauts into Earth's orbit. That mission sent two astronauts to the ISS. SpaceX has since completed several similar flights. 10The latest mission's crew might seem similar to private space tourists who recently took space rides that did not reach orbit. Those services are offered by private companies Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic. The trips aim to fly private citizens to the edge of space and permit them to experience weightlessness and observe Earth. 11But Axiom executives said their mission is very different. "We are not space tourists," Lopez-Alegria told a recent news conference. He added that the Axiom team had completed intense astronaut training with both NASA and SpaceX. 12The Ax-1 team will be carrying equipment and supplies for 26 science and technology experiments. They include research in areas including brain and heart health, cancer and aging. 13In the past, the ISS has accepted some visits by private citizens. But the current mission will mark the first all-commercial team of astronauts sent to use the station for its purpose as an orbiting laboratory. 14Axiom's co-founder and executive chairman, Kam Ghaffarian, told Reuters he sees the launch as "the beginning of many beginnings for commercializing low-Earth orbit." 15He added: "We're like in the early days of the internet, and we haven't even imagined all the possibilities, all the capabilities, that we're going to be providing in space." 16I'm Bryan Lynn. 17Reuters, NASA and Axiom reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English. 18We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 19_________________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21mission - n. an important project or trip, especially involving space travel 22commercial - adj. related to buying and selling things 23tourist - n. a person who travels to a place for pleasure 24capability - n. the ability or power to do something