Axiom Space unveils 1st private ISS crew joining Israeli Eytan Stibbe
The crew will live aboard the US segment of the ISS for about eight days and participate in research and philanthropic projects.
By Tzvi Joffre, Jerusalem Post, January 27, 2021
Axiom Space Station (photo credit: AXIOM SPACE)
Israeli Eytan Stibbe,
the second Israeli to fly to space, will be joined by American Larry
Connor, the second oldest person to fly to space, Canadian Mark Pathy
and Spanish-American Michael López-Alegría in the first private
International Space Station crew, the Axiom Space company announced on
Tuesday.
The Axiom
Mission 1 (Ax-1) flight is being arranged with NASA and will launch on a
SpaceX Dragon spacecraft no earlier than January 2022 subject to
approval from NASA and its international partners.
López-Alegría,
a former NASA astronaut in the past and Axiom's vice president, will
serve as the crew's commander. López-Alegría flew to space four times
over his 20-year career at NASA and was last at the ISS in 2007. He
holds NASA records for the most Extravehicular Activities (EVA) or
"space walks" with 10 space walks and the most cumulative EVA time with
67 hours and 40 minutes.
Pathy
will be Canada's 11th astronaut and Connor will be the first private
mission pilot in the annals of spaceflight and, at 71-years-old, will be
the second oldest person to fly into space, according to Scientific American. The oldest person to fly into space was John Glenn, who made his second spaceflight at the age of 77.
Stibbe and Pathy will serve as mission specialists on the crew.
"This
collection of pioneers – the first space crew of its kind – represents a
defining moment in humanity’s eternal pursuit of exploration and
progress,” said López-Alegría in a press release. “I know from firsthand
experience that what humans encounter in space is profound and propels
them to make more meaningful contributions on returning to Earth. And as
much as any astronaut who has come before them, the members of this
crew have accomplished the sorts of things in life that equip them to
accept that responsibility, act on that revelation, and make a truly
global impact."
Former
NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson will serve as the mission's backup
commander and John Shoffner of Knoxville, Tennessee will be the backup
mission pilot.
The crew will live aboard the US segment of the ISS for about eight days and participate in research and philanthropic projects.
Connow
will collaborate with the Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic on research
projects and provide instructional lessons to students at Dayton Early
College Academy in his hometown of Dayton, Ohio.
Pathy
is collaborating with the Canadian Space Agency and the Montreal
Children's Hospital and will work on health-related research projects
during the mission.
Stibbe
will conduct scientific experiments for Israeli researchers and
entrepreneurs in coordination with the Ramon Foundation and the Israel
Space Agency at the Science and Technology Ministry and will undertake
educational activities from orbit to inspire Israeli youth and
educators.
It took
more than 17 years to reach a decision to send another Israeli into
space after the disintegration of the Columbia space shuttle in February
2003, in which Israel’s first astronaut, the late Ilan Ramon, was
killed just as the shuttle re-entered Earth’s atmosphere.
Col. (res.) Stibbe, spent 43 years in the Israel Air Force,
flying thousands of hours in Skyhawks, Phantom, and F-16s. He also
served as a flight instructor at the Israeli Air Force Flight Academy
from 2013-2019.
During
the First Lebanon War, he downed four Syrian planes in one sortie: two
Sukhoi SU-22s, a MiG-23, and an Aérospatiale Gazelle helicopter. Two
days earlier, he helped take down another MiG-23.
Stibbe
had said to Ramon’s widow, Rona, that he would like to continue her
husband’s dream, and that became part of the mutual target of Stibbe,
the Ramon family and the Ramon Foundation.
“We
sought to put together a crew for this historic mission that had
demonstrated a lifelong commitment to improving the lives of the people
on Earth, and I’m glad to say we’ve done that with this group,” said
Axiom Space President & CEO Michael Suffredini in the press release.
“This is just the first of several Axiom Space crews whose private
missions to the International Space Station will truly inaugurate an
expansive future for humans in space – and make a meaningful difference
in the world when they return home.”
Axiom
plans to launch private and national astronaut flights to the ISS up to
twice per year, while simultaneously constructing its own privately
funded space station. The Axiom Station's modules will be attached to
the Harmony node of the ISS as early as 2024. When the ISS is retired,
the Axiom Station will separate to become the world's first free-flying,
privately developed, internationally available space station.
Greer Fay Cashman and Anna Ahronheim contributed to this report.
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