SpaceX has announced that Canadian Mark Pathy will join the Ax-1 private space crew heading to the International Space Station (ISS).
The Ax-1 crew will spend ten days in space, including eight days aboard ISS. The mission will include research, outreach and commercial activities.
The mission plans to take off on April 8 from the Kennedy Space Center.
Axiom Space is using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and the Crew Dragon Spacecraft for the mission.
Mark Pathy is a Montreal-based entrepreneur and CEO of finance and investment company MAVRIK. He will serve as a mission specialist for Axiom Space.
The mission also includes:
- Former NASA astronaut and Ax-1 mission commander Michael Lopez-Alegria
- Ohio-based entrepreneur and Ax-1 pilot Larry Connor
- Founding partner of Vital Capital Impact Investment Fund and mission specialist for Ax-1 Eytan Stibbe.
Although the exact costs of the mission did not get released, the rumours are that the seats cost $55 million for a ticket.
This is the first Axiom Space launch, and the company hopes it will be the first of many.
Axiom is planning to build a commercial replacement to the ISS in the coming years.
The company will use this mission, among others, to help plan and test components for the replacement of the ageing space station.
