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nick313 OP t1_jca3pht wrote

At the moment, Ax-3 is still in its very early stages. The private space company will still have to submit four proposed crew members and two back up crew to the agency for review, with the mission commander being a flown NASA astronaut. (Ax-2, for instance, was headed by retired NASA astronaut Peggy Annette Whitson.) Under the parties' agreement, NASA may ask the commander to perform certain tasks or science experiments while onboard. Meanwhile, Axiom Space astronauts will be able to use NASA cargo and other in-orbit resources for daily use.

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Analyst7 t1_jcaigd6 wrote

So they are just providing crew not flight hardware?

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DBDude t1_jcb1uk4 wrote

They go up on Crew Dragon. Eventually they plan to have their own ISS modules, which will then spin off to become their own space station.

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Disastrous_Elk_6375 t1_jcbeatm wrote

> which will then spin off

Hopefully not while still attached to the ISS. coughsky coughsky

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DBDude t1_jcbgguf wrote

It's not Russian, it won't accidentally spin the ISS.

It is a pretty brilliant idea to bootstrap a new space station off ISS instead of starting from scratch.

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CrimsonEnigma t1_jcajkbj wrote

IIRC, Ax1 also used Axiom’s mission control.

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LogicB0mbs t1_jcbr6wy wrote

It did not (it wasn't ready yet). They are planning to use it for Ax-2 though.

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