SpaceX carried out its third private astronaut mission for Axiom Space on Friday morning Iran time, sending a veteran NASA astronaut and three astronauts from European governments to the International Space Station (ISS).
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket was launched on Thursday at 16:49 local time (01:19 a.m. Friday) from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and the Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying astronauts named “Freedom” was launched into orbit. put the ground The spacecraft separated from the upper stage of the rocket approximately 12 minutes after liftoff.
The launch of Axiom 3 (Ax-3) was initially planned for January 17 (D 27); But less than 6 hours before take off, it was delayed; Because SpaceX announced that it would take an extra day to complete pre-launch checks and analyzes on the rocket. Axiom and NASA later said the delay was due to the need for more time to review the Dragon capsule’s parachute straps.
Alper Gezrauchi is a Turkish Air Force pilot and the first citizen of this country to fly into space
Dragon Freedom is scheduled to connect to the International Space Station on Saturday, January 30 at 12:49 Iran time. The spacecraft will remain in space for approximately two weeks before returning its four-person crew to Earth.
Axiom’s manned missions are missions that the company organizes with the aim of gaining experience in spaceflight. Axiom Space is preparing to install modules on the space station that will form the core of a commercial space station after the retirement of the ISS. The missions of Axiom 1 were carried out in April 2022 and Axiom 2 in May 2023.
Axiom 3 is commanded by former NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alria. This is Lopez-Alaria’s sixth space mission; An astronaut who participated in three shuttle missions and one long-duration mission to the International Space Station during his career at NASA.
The other three crew members are from European governments. Axiom 3 pilot Walter Villadi is an Italian Air Force officer who trained as the Axiom 2 co-pilot and participated in the first commercial flight of Virgin Galactic’s suborbital spacecraft USS Unity in June 2023.
