A new beginning? First private astronauts’ mission to ISS set for launch on April 8  

Axiom Mission 1, which is also being dubbed as the first private astronauts’ crew heading towards International Space Station (ISS), will launch on Friday (April 8), a Space.com report said.

In this mission, which is also called Ax-1, four astronauts will stay and work on the flying outpost.

Ax-1, which is a SpaceX flight, has been organised by Houston company Axiom Space. It is sending three customers, who have paid for the flight and an Axiom employee Michael López-Alegría to the ISS for an eight-day stay.

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López-Alegría, who is also a former NASA astronaut, is leading the mission. While the other three are pilot Larry Connor and mission specialists, Eytan Stibbe and Mark Pathy.

What’s special about this mission is that it is taking private astronauts to the ISS for the first time. Till now, ISS has only housed astronauts, cosmonauts and tourists.

NASA seems to have been pushing for commercialisation of the flying laboratory lately.

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The Ax-1 mission will be launched at 11:17 am EDT from NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. It will also use a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule. This mission will lift off from KSC's Pad 39A.

The team is carrying equipment and supplies for 26 science and technology experiments, which will be conducted before they head home.

“The goal for the Ax-1 crew is to set a standard for all future private astronaut missions in terms of our preparation and professionalism," López-Alegría said.

(With inputs from agencies)