Watch the historic launch of an all-civilian crew to the International Space Station
A crew of civilians is about to take one giant leap for space travel.
On Friday, Axiom Space will launch four private citizens into space, marking the first time a crew consisting entirely of civilians travels to the International Space Station, according to NBC News.
Last September, SpaceX made history by launching the first all-civilian crew into orbit, though this mission involved the crew orbiting the Earth for three days.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But the civilian crew on the Ax-1 mission will "spend eight days working and living aboard" the International Space Station while "conducting research that lays the groundwork for a full realization of the possibilities in low-Earth orbit," per Axiom Space.
The mission will include former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría and three customers: Larry Connor, Mark Pathy, and Eytan Stibbe, according to CBS News.
Axiom Space Operations Director Derek Hassmann noted Thursday that while private citizens have gone to the International Space Station before, this has typically involved them accompanying government astronauts. "In the case of the Ax-1 mission, it's very different in that the entire crew are unaffiliated with any government," he said.
Watch the launch, which is scheduled for 11:17 a.m. ET, below.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Europe records big leap in renewable energy
Speed Read Solar power overtook coal for the first time
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Blue Origin conducts 1st test flight of massive rocket
Speed Read The Jeff Bezos-founded space company conducted a mostly successful test flight of its 320-foot-tall New Glenn rocket
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US won its war on 'murder hornets,' officials say
Speed Read The announcement comes five years after the hornets were first spotted in the US
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Dark energy data suggest Einstein was right
Speed Read Albert Einstein's 1915 theory of general relativity has been proven correct, according to data collected by the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New DNA tests of Pompeii dead upend popular stories
Speed Read An analysis of skeletal remains reveals that some Mount Vesuvius victims have been wrongly identified
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
NASA's Europa Clipper blasts off, seeking an ocean
Speed Read The ship is headed toward Jupiter on a yearslong journey
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Detailed map of fly's brain holds clues to human mind
Speed Read This remarkable fruit fly brain analysis will aid in future human brain research
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Blind people will listen to next week's total eclipse
Speed Read While they can't see the event, they can hear it with a device that translates the sky's brightness into music
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published