The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will carry a crew of four to the International Space Station. They will be in the Dragon capsule. The launch will take place from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The crew will be led by former NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria. Also on board will be pilot Walter Villadei from the Italian Air Force, Turk Alper Gezeravci, and Swede Markus Wandt from the European Space Agency.
Ax-3 crew members will stay aboard the International Space Station for two weeks. During this time, they will conduct more than 30 experiments, including studies of stem cells, biological processes and the effects of microgravity.
This is a private mission led by Axiom Space. Its goal is to build commercial modules of the ISS in the next decade, and then a separate space station in Earth orbit.
This is Axiom Space’s third manned mission. The fourth is planned for the end of 2024.
Alper Gezeravci, astronaut from Turkey:
“I had to limit my dreams to the sky that I could see with the naked eye. But this is not the end result for future generations. It’s just that a new path has opened up for them. And this space flight is not the final destination. This is just the beginning.”
Gezeravci, who will become the first Turkish astronaut to fly into space, called it the “crowning achievement” of his career.
