The first private astronaut mission is headed for ISS next year

NASA is partnering with startup Axiom Space to launch the first all-private astronaut mission to the ISS.

Opportunities for private citizens to go to space got another boost after NASA reached an agreement this week to launch its first all-private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The agency is partnering with space startup Axiom Space – based in Houston, Texas in the United States – to send a crew of four to the space station early next year. If all goes according to plan, they will become the first private astronauts to stay on the orbital outpost. That flight, called Axiom Mission-1 (or Ax-1) will launch as early as January 2022 aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. The four-person crew including Larry Connor, Mark Pathy, and Eytan Stibbe will be led by retired NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría.