EU Nations Eager to Expand Human Low-Earth-Orbit Presence Written 17 October 2023

Aviation Week reports that the first all-European private astronaut crew “is working toward a planned 14-day visit aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to carry out more than 30 science and technology investigations.” It is anticipated they “will have an economic potential as well as pay scientific dividends beyond those already afforded by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) long-standing partnership in the 15-nation NASA led orbital laboratory.” Axiom Space is “leading its third private astronaut mission (AX-3), which is planned for launch no sooner than January from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule atop a Falcon 9 rocket.” The crew will “be Italian Air Force Col. Walter Villadei; Turkey’s first astronaut, Alper Gezeravci, a Turkish Air Force fighter pilot; and ESA project astronaut Marcus Wandt of Sweden.” The commander will “be retired NASA astronaut Mike Lopez Alegria, Axiom’s chief astronaut.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)