First all-European commercial astronaut mission to ISS set to launch from Florida

Kennedy Space Center, Fla. — The next crewed launch from Florida’s Space Coast is set for Thursday. The private Axiom Mission 3 is set to launch to the International Space Station January 18th. “Ax-3″ will be the first all-European commercial astronaut mission to the ISS. The crew will conduct more than 30 experiments during their 14-days aboard the space station.

The mission is also bringing Axiom Space closer to the creation of its own commercial space station. It will be known as Axiom Station. The privately-funded “Axiom Mission 3″ research mission to the International Space Station will be led by retired NASA astronaut and America’s most experienced spacewalker Michael López-Alegría.

The Ax-3 crew includes flyers from Italy (Pilot Walter Villadei), Sweden (Mission Specialist Marcus Wandt) and the first national space traveler of Turkey (Alper Gezeravcı). They are targeting docking at the ISS alongside the station’s incumbent Expedition 70 crew.