Latest / Elon Musk Podcast / SpaceX, NASA and Axiom Space to send humans to the international space station

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SpaceX, NASA and Axiom Space to send humans to the international space station · Elon Musk Podcast

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  Hi everybody and welcome back to another episode of the Elon Musk
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  Podcast. As always, we're here to serve
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  up the latest most exciting developments in the world of
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  SpaceX, NASA, Tesla, Twitter, and everything Elon Musk
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  related. Now in today's episode, we're
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  going to delve into a monumental development.
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  NASA and Axiom Space and SpaceX have signed an agreement for the
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  4th private Astronaut mission to the International Space Station,
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  scheduled to launch no earlier than August of 2024 from the
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  Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This represents a significant
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  stride in making space more accessible, transforming low
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  Earth orbit into a domain that transcends government led
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  expeditions. Now this mission, called AX 4,
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  is a part of an increasingly concerted effort to make space A
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  more commercial domain, with NASA becoming one among many
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  customers in the market. Axiom Space, SpaceX and other
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  private entities are now boldly venturing where only governments
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  have gone before, heralding a new era of space exploration.
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  And this ambitious mission brings us one step closer to
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  normalizing life in microgravity and making the final frontier
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  place not just for exploration, but also for the business
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  minded. But before we dive into all the
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  intriguing details about this upcoming mission, we need to
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  take a quick break for a word from our sponsors.
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  Their invaluable support helps us keep this podcast free for
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  all our listeners, so please stay tuned.
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  We'll be right back with more insights about this really cool
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  mission. Welcome back, everybody, NASA
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  and Axiom Space and SpaceX and their continual March toward
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  making the cosmos more accessible to the masses.
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  It was set a new milestone. The two entities have recently
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  signed an order to the 4th private astronaut mission to the
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  International Space Station. Now this expedition, referred to
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  as Axiom Mission 4 or AX4, is provisionally scheduled to lift
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  off no earlier than August of 2024 from NASA's Kennedy Space
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  Center located in Florida. Now, the anticipated milestone
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  encapsulates the latest of NASA's endeavors to broaden low
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  Earth orbit utilization beyond government backed missions.
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  Phil McAllister, the Director of Commercial Space at NASA
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  Headquarters in Washington, hailed the development.
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  He highlighted that these orders mark critical stepping stones to
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  creating a commercial space marketplace.
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  With NASA as one of the many customers in axioms, Mission
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  Four will aim to stay attached to the space station for up to
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  two weeks. This specific launch date will
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  be contingent upon the overall spacecraft traffic to the
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  orbital outpost and other planning constraints.
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  Now, to ensure a seamless operation, though, NASA and
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  Axiom Space mission planners will synchronize inorbit
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  activities for the private astronauts.
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  This coordination will facilitate the team's
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  interaction with station crew members and flight controllers
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  on the ground. Michael Safradini, CEO and
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  President of Axiom Space, expressed his company's
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  enthusiasm for the mission. He stated each mission allows us
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  to build on the foundation we were set for the world's first
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  commercial space station, Axiom Station.
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  Now, he affirmed that these ventures will play an
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  instrumental role in the normalization of living and
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  working in microgravity, and they would also promote
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  commercial space activities, expand space access, and foster
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  knowledge and experience related to working and living in space.
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  To prepare for the AX4 mission, Axiom Space will propose 4 crew
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  members to NASA and its international partners to
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  review, and once approved, these individuals will become the
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  prime crew members for the mission.
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  These astronauts will undergo training with NASA international
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  partners in SpaceX, and the training will familiarize them
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  with the spacecraft systems, protocols and emergency
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  readiness for the Dragon spacecraft.
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  Now, Axiom Spaces partnership with SpaceX extends beyond
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  training. The private aerospace
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  manufacturer has been contracted to provide transportation to and
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  from the International Space Station.
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  This collaboration facilitates the integration of private and
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  commercial stakeholders and space exploration advancing
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  towards a more accessible space economy.
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  This landmark partnership between Axiom Space and NASA
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  consists of two main agreements, a mission specific Order in a
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  reimbursable Space Act Agreement.
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  The former encompasses crew supplies, cargo delivery,
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  storage and inorbit resources for daily use.
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  It also includes provisions for seven contingency days aboard
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  the Space Station. Now, as part of the order, Axiom
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  Space may offer NASA specific capabilities.
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  These could range from a return of scientific samples requiring
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  cold storage, to leveraging the mission commander's time for
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  completing NASA science and performing tasks for the agency.
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  The Reimbursable Space Act Agreement, on the other hand,
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  outlines the services that Axiom Space will pay NASA to enable
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  the mission. These services include crew
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  training and use of facilities at NASA's Johnson Space Center
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  in Houston and the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
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  Furthermore, SpaceX has similar reimbursable agreements with
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  NASA Kennedy for launch services.
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  Now, NASA's private astronaut missions are not new endeavors,
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  though. Ex IM Space was chosen for the
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  third private astronaut mission back in March, and the proposed
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  crew members for this expedition are currently under review by
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  NASA and its international partners, with a formal
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  announcements expected later this year.
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  Now this mission is set to launch no earlier than January
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  of 2024. The selection of these private
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  astronaut missions was made following proposals received in
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  response to NASA's September 2022 research announcement.
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  The missions were evaluated based on the providers ability
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  to successfully execute a mission, NASA's capacity to
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  support the proposed mission, and the missions contribution to
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  NASA's goal of commercialization of low Earth Orbit.
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  For over 22 years, NASA has facilitated a constant US human
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  presence in low Earth orbit. The ultimate goal is to foster a
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  marketplace in low Earth orbit, where NASA is among many
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  customers in the private sector leads the charge forward.
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  Now the strategy not only reduces the cost for government
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  back space activities, but also allows NASA to concentrate on
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  bigger things such as the Artemis missions, which is aimed
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  at the Moon and eventually the Red Planet of Mars now.
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  Meanwhile, Low Earth Orbit continues to be an essential
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  training and proving ground for these deep space missions,
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  contributing to the broader vision of space exploration.
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  I want to say thank you very much for listening to the show
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  today. If you could take a second and
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  hit the follow or subscribe button on whatever podcast
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  platform you're on right now, it will help out the show a lot and
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  we can continue to grow this show for free.
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  So thank you for doing that and also thank you for taking the
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  time out of your day to spend it here with me.
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  And please take care of yourselves and each other, and I
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  will see you in the next one.