Axiom’s Unique Space Travel Model
A Step Toward Operating Its Own Private Space Station
Sometime in June, Axiom Space will launch its fourth private mission, Ax-4, to the International Space Station (ISS). The flight features an international crew of three government-sponsored professional astronauts in contrast with Axiom’s first mission, in which three passengers each personally paid aproximately $55 million for the two-week experience. An Axiom commander with NASA experience has led all of the missions.
The $55M level is the current per-seat market rate for a multi-day stay in orbit, whether traveling to the ISS as a tourist or agency-sponsored astronaut, or sleeping aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon circling the planet, as in the recent Fram-2 and Polaris Dawn missions.
Axiom plays a unique role in space travel because, unlike SpaceX and Blue Origin, it does not operate rockets. Instead, it charters the Crew Dragon from SpaceX and negotiates with NASA for ISS services such as workspace, docking, and meals, wh…