Jane Edwards
Axiom Space hopes to hammer out an agreement for its maiden commercial flight to the International Space Station slated for launch in the fourth quarter of calendar year 2021, SpaceNews reported Friday.
“We have all of our customers identified and we’re about to finish their contracting,†Michael Suffredini, president and CEO of Axiom Space, said Oct. 13 during a panel discussion at the International Astronautical Congress. “We’re cautiously optimistic that, by the end of October, we will have everything in place to move forward for a launch in the fourth quarter of 2021.â€
Three customers and former NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria are expected to fly aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft in 2021 for a 10-day flight to the orbiting laboratory.
Axiom Space is working on a commercial module for the ISS. The company had concluded a system requirements review and intends to launch that initial module by 2024.
