John Omenamein
The SpaceX flight Axiom Mission 3 has docked on the International Space Station with Italian, Swedish, and Turkish astronauts on board.
The Falcon rocket blasted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center late afternoon on Thursday, carrying three men – all with military pilot experience and representing their homelands.
Their escort on the trip was a retired NASA astronaut who now works for the company which arranged the private flight.
They will spend two performing experiments, chatting to schoolchildren and soaking in the views of Earth from the International Space Station, before returning home.
It’s costing each of the three countries $55 million (about €50m) or more.
This docking comes after Falcon 9 launched Axiom Space’s Axiom Mission 3 to the International Space Station from launch at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 18 January.
The arriving crew included Turkey’s first person into space, Alper Gezeravci.
He was joined by Sweden’s Marcus Wandt, Italian Air Force Colonel Walter Villadei, and the trio’s NASA escort Michael Lopez-Alegria.
