NASA, Axiom Agree to Send More Astronauts to ISS on Commercial Mission - Space Agency

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - NASA and the Axiom Company have signed a new agreement for the commercial firm to send a second private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS), the US space agency said in a press release.

"NASA and Axiom Space have signed a mission order for the second private astronaut mission to the ISS to take place in the second quarter of 2023," the release said on Thursday.

The spaceflight, to be known as Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2), will launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and travel to the ISS, giving its crew ten days aboard the orbiting laboratory, the release said.

"NASA and Axiom mission planners will coordinate in-orbit activities for the private astronauts to conduct in coordination with space station crew members and flight controllers on the ground," the release said.

For the mission, Axiom Space will submit four proposed crew members and four backup crew to the station’s Multilateral Crew Operations Panel for review, the release added.

NASA is currently requiring all private astronaut mission providers to select a previously flown NASA astronaut as the spacecraft commander, according to the release.