Axiom hires British astronaut Tim Peake
Axiom has now added British astronaut Tim Peake to its staff, making him the fourth astronaut after Michael Lopez-Alegria, Peggy Whitson, and Koichi Wakata working for the commercial space station and space tourism company.
The decision appears to be in connection with Axiom’s agreement with the UK Space Agency to fly an all-British manned commercial mission in exchange for $19 million in government funding. NASA regulations require any commercial mission that docks with ISS to include as a company commander an experienced astronaut. By hiring Peake Axiom fulfills this requirement.
No date for this four-person two week mission to ISS has been announced. Nor have any other passengers been named. It is very possible this announcement today is a PR effort by Axiom to drum up interest from potential British customers because the earlier announcements have possibly failed to do so.
The support of my readers through the years has given me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Four years ago, just before the 2020 election I wrote that Joe Biden's mental health was suspect. Only in the past two weeks has the mainstream media decided to recognize that basic fact.
Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Even today NASA and Congress refuses to recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are five ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation:
5. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above. And if you buy the books through the ebookit links, I get a larger cut and I get it sooner.
Axiom has now added British astronaut Tim Peake to its staff, making him the fourth astronaut after Michael Lopez-Alegria, Peggy Whitson, and Koichi Wakata working for the commercial space station and space tourism company.
The decision appears to be in connection with Axiom’s agreement with the UK Space Agency to fly an all-British manned commercial mission in exchange for $19 million in government funding. NASA regulations require any commercial mission that docks with ISS to include as a company commander an experienced astronaut. By hiring Peake Axiom fulfills this requirement.
No date for this four-person two week mission to ISS has been announced. Nor have any other passengers been named. It is very possible this announcement today is a PR effort by Axiom to drum up interest from potential British customers because the earlier announcements have possibly failed to do so.
The support of my readers through the years has given me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Four years ago, just before the 2020 election I wrote that Joe Biden's mental health was suspect. Only in the past two weeks has the mainstream media decided to recognize that basic fact.
Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Even today NASA and Congress refuses to recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are five ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation:
5. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above. And if you buy the books through the ebookit links, I get a larger cut and I get it sooner.
Third. There is Peggy Whitson.
Patrick Underwood: You are correct. I forgot about Whitson. I have corrected the post. Thank you.
I’m correct?! Mr Zimmerman, would you please contact my wife and my boss, and give them this news? THANK YOU SIR!!
”Axiom has now added British astronaut Tim Peake to its staff, making him the third astronaut after Michael Lopez-Alegri and Peggy Whitson working for the commercial space station and space tourism company.”
Fourth. Koichi Wakata was the third.
mkent: Jeez, are there any others I’ve missed? Is there a place where all of Axiom’s professional astronauts are listed? I can’t find any.
”…are there any others I’ve missed?”
Not that I’m aware of, except for the final “a” on Lopez-Algeria’s name. ;)
mkent: Post has been amended, including that last “a.” Thank you.
You’re welcome.
“Nor have any other passengers been named.”
It’s now being reported in both Indian and American media that the fourth seat on Axiom-4 will be going to an Indian (ISRO) astronaut as part of this major new cooperation between NASA and ISRO that unfolded earlier this year. We still do not know the name of this astronaut, but he will be one of the four astronauts selected for the Gaganyaan mission 2026 – Group Captain Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair, Group Captain Ajit Krishnan, Group Captain Angad Pratap, and Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla, ISRO had earlier announced. Apparently, two of these astronauts will be sent to JSC in Houston to undergo training in August – one as prime, one as backup. The mission is supposed to launch sometime in October 2024, but obviously that is still not a firm date – and it may slide right a little bit, along with the rest of SpaceX’s manifest, as a result of the current investigation into the Starlink 9-3 launch failure.
https://www.deccanherald.com/science/space/isros-two-astronauts-all-set-to-undergo-training-under-nasa-for-iss-mission-3121632
So, we have yet another Axiom mission now entirely composed of astronauts from other (more or less-U.S. aligned) foreign governments: Hungary, Poland, and India. This is turning into a lucrative market for both Axiom and SpaceX. Dragon has now made it possible for smaller developed countries and emerging space powers to mount a manned space mission of consequence safely and cheaply: $50-100M for an Axiom mission seat is obviously far more affordable to a country like Hungary than the cost of developing their own launch, crew, and space station capability!
I think this bodes well for at least ONE of the emerging commercial space stations being able to close a business case.
Richard M wrote: “I think this bodes well for at least ONE of the emerging commercial space stations being able to close a business case.”
I agree completely. If there is this much interest, even with the hassle of dealing with NASA, think of the interest when there is far less bureaucratic nonsense and so much more service that the commercial companies will be eager to provide.