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.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
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.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
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.