Skip to main content

NASA delays launch of its first space tourism mission to ISS

Three amateur astronauts itching to get to the International Space Station (ISS) will have to wait a little longer than expected after NASA shifted the mission’s targeted launch date from the end of February to the end of March.

Texas-based Axiom Space — the organizer of what will be NASA’s first space tourism trip to the ISS — said the mission team is now targeting March 31 due to “additional spacecraft preparations and space station traffic,” suggesting other spacecraft will be on maneuvers around the ISS toward the end of February and the beginning of March.

Related Videos

Ax-1, the first ever private astronaut mission to the @Space_Station, is now targeting a March 31 launch due to additional spacecraft preparations & space station traffic. The multinational crew will conduct science, outreach, & commercial activities during their 8 days on ISS. pic.twitter.com/s9qsnS7gE8

— Axiom Space (@Axiom_Space) January 20, 2022

The Ax-1 space tourism mission — or “private astronaut” mission as NASA prefers to call it — will last about a week and be crewed by Canadian investor and philanthropist Mark Pathy, American entrepreneur Larry Connor, and former Israeli Air Force pilot Eytan Stibbe. Former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría will complete the crew, flying as commander of the mission.

Ax-1 will use a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to launch the crew to space, with its trusty Crew Dragon spacecraft transporting the four crew members to and from the ISS.

Pathy, Connor, and Stibbe are reported to be paying around $55 million each for the space tourism trip, during which they’ll work on research and philanthropic projects that will likely include various health-related activities.

The mission is part of plans by NASA and its Russian counterpart, Roscosmos, to commercialize the ISS in a bid to raise funds while at the same time increasing access to space for private citizens, albeit very wealthy ones.

While Ax-1 will be NASA’s first experience of overseeing a space tourism mission, Roscosmos has been operating such missions on and off for years.

Its most recent tourism mission was in December when it used a Soyuz spacecraft to take two Japanese space tourists to the ISS, with the pair returning to Earth after 12 days in space.

American Dennis Tito became the first private citizen to reach space in 2001 after paying a reported $20 million for a ride to the ISS aboard a Soyuz spacecraft.

SpaceX could also expand its orbital tourism trips that send amateur astronauts to space for several days but which don’t dock at the space station. The first such mission took place last September when it sent four private citizens into orbit for three days in a Crew Dragon spacecraft.

Editors' Recommendations

NASA, SpaceX delay Crew-6 launch to space station
SpaceX's Crew-6 astronauts.

Following a flight readiness review on Tuesday, NASA and SpaceX have decided to delay the Crew-6 launch to the International Space Station by about 24 hours.

The additional time will enable launch personnel to sort out some relatively minor issues with the launch vehicle, officials said.

Read more
How to watch the SpaceX Crew-6 mission launch this week
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, with the Dragon Endurance spacecraft atop, lifts off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A in Florida on Oct. 5, 2022, on the agency’s SpaceX Crew-5 launch. Inside Endurance are NASA astronauts Nicole Mann, commander; Josh Cassada, pilot; and Mission Specialists Koichi Wakata, of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina. The crew is heading to the International Space Station for a science expedition mission as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Liftoff occurred at noon EDT.

[NASA and SpaceX have delayed the launch by about 24 hours. The new launch time has been added below.]

Next weekend will see the launch of an international crew of four astronauts who will be traveling to the International Space Station (ISS) for a stay of about seven months.

Read more
NASA and Boeing set date for first crewed test flight of Starliner
The Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft was moved into the Hazardous Processing Area at the company’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 8, 2023, in advance of power up and fueling operations.

NASA has announced it plans to launch the first crewed test flight of the Boeing Starliner capsule this April. The spacecraft has been through a troubled development and testing process but aims to become a second U.S.-based crew transport vehicle along with the SpaceX Crew Dragon.

The Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft was moved into the Hazardous Processing Area at the company’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 8, 2023, in advance of power up and fueling operations. NASA

Read more