Space Launch LIVE: Axiom 1 Journey to Liftoff

Houston-based company Axiom Space sent the first all-private crew to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. The first commercial mission of its kind blasted off today at 11:17 am ET.

Updated April 8, 2022.

April 01, 2022

By: Discovery

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Photo By: Credit: Axiom Space

Photo By: NASA/Jamie Peer

Photo By: NASA/Joel Kowsky

Mike Lopez-Alegria and Larry Connor in SpaceX Training

Ax-1 Zero-G flight.

(L to R) Eytan Stibbe, Michael López-Alegría, Mark Pathy, Larry Connor

Michael López-Alegría and Larry Connor at Johnson Space Center

Ax-1 Crew in JSC Training

Ax-1 Mission Patch

Ax-1 Crew at SpaceX

Ax-1 Crew in SpaceX Crew Dragon

SpaceX’s Axiom-1 is in the foreground on Launch Pad 39A with NASA’s Artemis I in the background on Launch Pad 39B on April 6, 2022. This is the first time two totally different types of rockets and spacecraft designed to carry humans are on the sister pads at the same time.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft aboard is seen on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A as members of the media are seen next to the countdown clock at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Press Site ahead of launch of Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1), Friday, April 8, 2022, in Florida. The Ax-1 mission is the first private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. 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 are scheduled to launch at 11:17 a.m. EDT, from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.

Axiom Mission 1 Launch

The first all private mission to space launches!

The rocket starts its long journey to the ISS.

NASA Deputy Chief of Staff Bale Dalton, left, and NASA Administrator Bill Nelson watch the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.