Axiom Space, a newly formed commercial space firm, has been planning to send an astronaut to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2019 and connect a large multipurpose habitat there in 2020, Jason Davis reported in the Planetary Society.
The world’s first private commercial space station is headed by Mike Suffredini, who managed NASA’s ISS program for 10 years, and Kam Ghaffarian, the CEO of SGT, a major NASA contractor responsible for ISS operations and astronaut training,
Axiom plans to build the core of its space station at the ISS before the international laboratory retires. When the ISS finally calls it quits, Axiom’s station will detach and become a fully independent commercial complex.
The company’s first module, called the “Module 1”, would launch in late 2020. Module will fly to the ISS under its own power after being dropped off in orbit.
Module 1 is well equipped with its own life support systems, sleeping quarters, restroom, galley, and experimentation and storage areas. The module can support up to seven astronauts.
Axiom and NASA have conducted a feasibility study on the concept and discussed it under a Space Act Agreement.
The commercial space industry is expected to address a market of up to $37 billion between 2020 and 2030.
In English vocabulary, the word axiom means a “statement or proposition which is regarded as being established, accepted, or self-evidently true”. The futuristic vision of the firm showed that the name fits well for this innovative venture.
