51814546773_87375876c8_k.jpeg The International Space Station is pictured from inside a window aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour during a fly around of the orbiting lab that took place following its undocking from the Harmony module’s space-facing port on Nov. 8, 2021. Credits: NASA

NASA will host a media teleconference Friday, March 25, following the agency’s flight readiness review for the Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1), the first private astronaut mission to the International Space Station.

This media briefing will focus on the readiness of the Ax-1 flight to visit the space station, including arrival, docking, in-orbit, and undocking operations at the orbital complex.

The briefing time, currently scheduled at 6 p.m. EDT or one-hour after the review ends, will be updated on NASA’s space station blog at the completion of the meeting.

Briefing participants include:

• Kathryn Lueders, associate administrator, NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate
• Dana Weigel, deputy manager, NASA’s International Space Station Program
• Angela Hart, program manager, NASA’s Commercial Low-Earth Orbit Program
• Michael Suffredini, president and CEO, Axiom Space
• Derek Hassmann, operations director, Axiom Space
• William Gerstenmaier, vice president, Build and Flight Reliability, SpaceX

This event is a teleconference only, and media must register to participate in this briefing. For the call-in details, please contact NASA’s Johnson Space Center newsroom at: 281-483-5111 or jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov no later than noon Friday, March 25.

Ax-1 launch is targeted for no earlier than Sunday, April 3, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, pending range availability.

The Ax-1 crew members, Commander Michael López-Alegría of Spain and the United States, Pilot Larry Connor of the United States, and Mission Specialists Eytan Stibbe of Israel and Mark Pathy of Canada, will travel to the space station on the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft after launching on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket.

During the 10-day mission, the crew will spend eight days aboard the International Space Station conducting scientific research, outreach, and commercial activities.

For more information about NASA’s low-Earth orbit commercialization activities, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/leo-economy/

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Press Contacts

Stephanie Schierholz / Josh Finch
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
stephanie.schierholz@nasa.gov / joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov

Gary Jordan
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
gary.j.jordan@nasa.gov

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