SpaceX private flight to ISS takes off with Canadian financier on board
Posted Apr 8, 2022 10:15 am.
For the first time ever, an all-private human space flight to the International Space Station has lifted off.
The SpaceX rocket as part of the Ax-1 mission took off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Friday morning, around 11:15 a.m. local time.
Aboard the private charter flight, arranged by the Axiom Space company, was Canadian entrepreneur Mark Pathy, along with Larry Connor from the U.S. and Eytan Stibbe from Israel. The three businessmen are on route to the ISS with an astronaut escort.
Pathy is the founder and CEO of Montreal’s Mavrik Corp. — an investment and financing company with a focus on “innovation, entrepreneurship, and responsible investing,” according to its website.
Pathy and his two fellow space companions each paid $55 million for the rocket ride and accommodations. All meals are included.
The crew will be on the station for a 10-day mission. SpaceX says the Ax-1 crew will take part in “educational outreach and conduct innovative research experiments” while on the ISS.
According to SpaceX, this is the fifth flight for this Falcon 9 first stage booster.
As a gift for their seven station hosts, the four visitors are taking up paella and other Spanish cuisine prepared by celebrity chef José Andrés. The rest of their time at the station, NASA’s freeze-dried chow will have to do.
LIVE NOW – Watch the launch of the first private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. Canadian Mark Pathy is part of the crew going to the Station for a 10-day mission. https://t.co/2ltFzBImBo
— Canadian Space Agency (@csa_asc) April 8, 2022
The crew is expected to arrive at the ISS Saturday. The automated SpaceX capsule is due back with the four on April 19.
Axiom is targeting next year for its second private flight to the space station, with more customer trips expected to follow. The company plans to add its own rooms to the orbiting complex beginning in 2024.
Friday‘s flight is the second private charter for Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which took a billionaire and his guests on a three-day orbit ride last year.
