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SpaceX Dragon Endeavor Crew docked to the International Space Station on July 1, 2020.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida – Former Israeli fighter pilot Eytan Stibbe is the second fully private crew member SpaceX is scheduled to launch late next year for Axiom Space, the company confirmed to CNBC on Monday.
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin made the announcement shortly after SpaceX launched its Crew-1 mission for NASA on Sunday night.
“Eytan Stibbe will fly the blue and white flag on his uniform, reminding us that the sky is no longer the limit!” Rivlin said in a tweet.
Stibbe will become Israel’s second astronaut. The country’s first astronaut was Ilan Ramon, a payload specialist aboard the space shuttle Columbia. He and the other six NASA crew members died on February 1, 2003 when Columbia disintegrated during re-entry.
The Axiom AX-1 mission is scheduled to launch in the second half of 2021, which the company revealed in a deal with SpaceX earlier this year. Astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria, who previously worked for NASA and flew into space four times, will be the commander of the AX-1 mission, with Stibbe set to serve as a mission specialist.
AX-1 would be the first fully private mission to the International Space Station, with López-Alegria and Stibbe flying with two other people yet to be named.
While NASA announced earlier this year that the agency is working with actor Tom Cruise to make a movie aboard the ISS, Axiom has not confirmed that Cruise is one of the other two passengers on the AX-1.
The first Axiom mission will last 10 days, with two days of travel and eight days aboard the space station.
Neither SpaceX nor Axiom have revealed how much the AX-1 mission will cost. But recent contracts mean it will likely cost more than $ 50 million per person, as NASA expects to pay SpaceX about $ 55 million per astronaut for missions to the ISS, and last year SpaceX had a deal with Bigelow Aerospace to carry. individuals to the ISS for $ 52 million per person.
In addition to launch costs, a 10-day mission would generate a $ 350,000 bill with NASA. According to the agency’s cost structure revealed last year, NASA would receive $ 35,000 per night per person, as compensation for the agency services that a tourist would need while aboard the ISS.
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