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Axiom Space, SpaceX set launch date for 1st all-private astronaut mission

Ax-1 pathfinder mission to launch April 6

Ax-1 crew members (left to right) Larry Connor, Mark Pathy, Michael López-Alegría and Eytan Stibbe, pictured in Houston. (Axiom Space)

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – Axiom Space and SpaceX have targeted April 6 as the official launch date for the first all-private astronaut mission to the International Space Station.

Axiom Mission 1, or Ax-1, which was previously set to launch on March 30, and then later, on April 3, is now scheduled to blast off from Launch Complex 49A at Kennedy Space Center no earlier than April 6 at 12:05 p.m. EST, according to Axiom’s website.

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“During the 10-day mission, which includes eight days aboard the space station, the four-person multi-national crew will complete more than 25 research experiments developed for microgravity in collaboration with health and science organizations across the globe,” Axiom Space said in a release.

The Axiom Space astronauts who will embark on this mission are Michael López-Alegría, Larry Connor, Mark Pathy, and Eytan Stibbe.

Lopez-Alegria, who is making his fifth visit to space and his third visit to the space station, will lead Connor, Pathy and Stibbe on the first private astronaut mission, according to NASA’s space station blog.