Kacey Roberts
NASA has picked Axiom Space to carry out the third private manned mission to the International Space Station.
Axiom Mission 3 is set to take off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida no earlier than November 2023 to support private astronauts’ in-orbit activities for two weeks with the help of ground flight controllers and crew members aboard the ISS, the space agency said Wednesday.
Axiom will propose four astronauts and two backup crew members for the Ax-3 mission to the orbiting laboratory’s multilateral crew operations panel. Selected individuals will undergo training with NASA, international partners and SpaceX this spring.
In 2021, Axiom was also tapped to perform the first and second private astronaut missions.
A fourth mission opportunity is expected next year as NASA began soliciting proposals earlier. The mission will be announced after negotiations lead to an award.
