PREVIEW

AssetID: 41183711

Headline: Axiom: The Successor To The International Space Station

Caption: This is the successor to the International Space Station. With U.S. Congress wanting to de-orbit the ISS by the end of 2030, the Axiom Station is currently in line to replace it. Described as “the world’s first commercial space station”, Texas-based Axiom has a $140 million contract with NASA to attach at least one module to the ISS. Further sections will be added, until the time they will separate and become an independent entity. The project has attracted serious names, with rumours of Tom Cruise being one of the first visitors and visionary creator Philippe Starck having designed Axiom crew accommodations. Orbiting 250 miles above the Earth’s surface and traveling over 17,000 miles per hour, the Axiom Station will be a commercial laboratory and residential infrastructure in space that will serve as a home to microgravity experiments, critical space-environment materials testing, and private and professional astronauts alike. The company explain: “We are hosting private missions to the ISS, starting in 2021, and building the first commercial space station in our solar system starting in 2024, to ensure a brighter future for everyone on Earth and set our course for life beyond it.” Beau Holder, Axiom Manager of Communications, tells Cover-Images.com: A key point I’d like to start off with is that Axiom Station is not intended as a ‘hotel.’ It will be the de facto successor to the International Space Station and, as such, is designed to offer the same opportunities as a platform that the ISS does. These obviously include habitation for both private and national/governmental astronauts, but also pressurized volume in microgravity for research and manufacturing applications. Because microgravity holds the potential for breakthroughs that simply can’t be achieved on Earth, a key goal with Axiom Station is to provide a lower-cost, easier-to-access platform in Low Earth Orbit that will last into the future. “Axiom Station will also allow space agencies and other entities seeking to explore the Solar System – e.g. Mars – a place to test their systems in space before sending them on a long journey during which they cannot fail. Finally, it will offer commercial entities opportunities for unique brand partnerships and media in space. “Think of it as the central node of a network of commerce and innovation in Earth’s orbit – a habitable industrial park in space. As such, hosting private astronauts is only one of several areas Axiom Station will serve. This will be key to expanding human settlement of space, but is not Axiom’s only focus.” “NASA has been very open about the fact that in order to do exploration beyond low earth orbit, you have to have a platform there to test systems and get experience,” says Michael Suffredini, the cofounder and CEO of Axiom Space told WIRED. “The US government saw early on that to do exploration it couldn't afford the next space station. And so that's why we’re building one to replace the International Space Station after it retires.” “We want to head toward this place where we’re really settling low earth orbit,” Suffredini says. “The evolution from exploration to settling is what has to happen for humanity to take the next great step and permanently live off the planet. That’s the long-term vision of what we’re doing.”

Keywords: interesting,weird,viral,strange,quirky,offbeat,science,sci,sci-fi,tech,technology,rocket,rockets,space,solar,mission,astro,lander,landing,explore,exploration

PersonInImage: