This article was originally published on Conversation. (Opens in a new tab) Post contributed this article to Space.com Expert Voices: Editorials and Insights.
Ian Whitaker (Opens in a new tab)Senior Lecturer in Physics, University of Nottingham Trent
Not so long ago, billionaires competed to reach the “end of outer space”. Now, the first group of ordinary citizens is getting ready to board the SpaceX shuttle to International space station (ISS). Unlike the shortjoy (Opens in a new tab)For Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos, this mission will reach the altitude of about 400 km needed to dock with the International Space Station.
American commercial airline mission Axiom Space This is a major step forward in private space travel, and is part of plans to build a private space station. with Russia just pulled (Opens in a new tab) To collaborate on the International Space Station, the world will be watching to see if the private sector can be trusted to provide reliable access to space for peaceful exploration.
The Ax-1 mission is scheduled to launch on April 6, using SpaceX Dragon Endeavor . spaceship (Opens in a new tab) – The same Astronauts use it (Opens in a new tab) In 2020 – aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. The mission is scheduled to last ten days, eight of which will be on the International Space Station.
Live update: Ax-1 space station special mission
With a high altitude and a long duration, the preparation was quite long. The conceptual mission has been the plan since Axiom Space was founded in 2016 by an Iranian-American entrepreneur Kamal Ghafarian (Opens in a new tab) (who also founded the private nuclear reactor company X-Energy) and Michael T. suffredini (Opens in a new tab) (who had a long career at NASA). And while NASA is funding some of the costs, it says that each of the four participants will have to make their own contribution to… $55 million (£42 million) (Opens in a new tab) like that.
The astronauts on the plane will feel weightless for almost 10 days and will be in danger Experienced (Opens in a new tab) By all astronauts, including radiation exposure, muscle damage and possibly some bone loss. Despite this short task, the risk is very low.
Unlike standard American flights to the International Space Station, mission control is at Axiom’s headquarters in Houston and not on NASA property. Although this is the first time it has been used on a full mission, it has previously been used to research how items on the International Space Station have changed over time. This led to the validation of MCC-A (Mission Control Center – Axiom) as Load operation site (Opens in a new tab) by NASA.
crew
That Astronaut on the ship They are all citizens, with the mission leader, Michael Lopez Alegria, a former NASA astronaut. The company describes its three other members, Larry Connor, Eitan Stipe, and Mark Bathy, as “entrepreneurs” and “investors”.
Even if you’re thinking of a suitable investor to venture out into the space, think again. The backgrounds of these three men are impressive and show that one of them could indeed be selected as an astronaut for a space agency, with private pilots and military pilots among them.
Looking further at their backgrounds, it’s clear that philanthropy is at the core of those chosen for this mission, each with a reputation for giving back to their communities. As part of this, astronaut planning (Opens in a new tab) To conduct research during their time on the International Space Station to see how space travel will affect the health of future astronauts – including effects on vision, pain and sleep. Experiments on growing food are also being planned – all of which are current topics that need to be researched in future personal space endeavors.
This is a very positive and welcome step forward. The data collected by the space agency is usually done Available for researchers (Opens in a new tab) (usually after the ban period). If private researchers are willing to do the same, it heralds an era of accelerated research and technology.
The first private space station
The Ax-1 mission is the first part of Axiom Space’s plan to manufacture the first private space station. This is no small matter; The ISS itself should be Default part (Opens in a new tab)It is then sent to be built into space. The total mass of the space station of 420 tons is not feasible to launch into space in one flight. In comparison, this is the same as a 70 . launch James Webb Space Telescope (Opens in a new tab) One time.
It took more than ten years and 30 launches to complete the International Space Station. The Action Plan was to build a space station on top of the International Space Station, initially building Axiom Hub One (Opens in a new tab)which is expected to be launched in 2024. No doubt, once this unit is operational, it will absorb and join more units when funds come to the company.
With the International Space Station set to be decommissioned sometime after 2030, an open international space station will be required. While the maintenance of the space station costs a lot of money, it’s likely at least NASA and the European Space Agency Pay the rent (Opens in a new tab) To use the facilities on such a private space station.
Many private companies will monitor the Ax-1 mission to decide whether to continue with their own program. Success can mean that there is a sudden influx of investment and plans for future space station units or entire stations. If this is the case, the space agency will have to accept that they will not be able to compete with the private sector. Instead, it would be wise to focus on renting private space and doing open access research.
I wish the four private astronauts success in their mission and hope they bring a wealth of data for researchers and the general public to study.
This article has been republished from Conversation (Opens in a new tab) Under Creative Commons License. Read original article (Opens in a new tab).
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