April 26, 2021RELEASE - Space policy luminary Mary Lynne Dittmar joins Axiom Space as Executive Vice President, Government AffairsAxiom Space revealed Monday that Coalition for Deep Space Exploration founder and former President/CEO Dr. Mary Lynne Dittmar, known for her influential role in national policy toward human space exploration and commercial space development, has joined the Houston-based space infrastructure leader as Executive Vice President, Government Affairs. At Axiom, which is currently constructing the world’s-first commercial low-Earth orbit (LEO) destination that will succeed the International Space Station (ISS), she will direct the company’s policy objectives and strategic advocacy with local, state, and federal government authorities. “I am excited to be joining the team of experts I believe will accomplish the necessary next steps to ensure a permanent U.S. presence in low Earth orbit,” Dittmar said. “Axiom is leading the development of next-generation space infrastructure to meet the needs of industry, science, and the government. The opportunities it will create for a global user base are boundless.” An established thought leader in the space industry, she sits on the National Space Council Users’ Advisory Group, the Space Studies Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, and the FAA’s Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC). Through her work with the Coalition for Deep Space Exploration and her own consulting group, Dittmar Associates, she has served as one of the industry’s top representatives to the White House and Congress and been a senior adviser to multiple NASA mission directorates, the ISS Program, and various aerospace companies supporting the Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Defense, and NASA. Her previous experience also includes roles as Senior Policy Advisor for the ISS National Laboratory, Member of the Board of Directors at the American Astronautical Society, and managing the Flight Operations Group and serving as the Chief Scientist for Commercial Payloads on the ISS Program at Boeing. Dittmar’s addition bolsters an Axiom team already laden with specialized expertise in human spaceflight and deep experience in the design, construction, assembly, and operation of the ISS. She will report directly to President & CEO Michael Suffredini. “Mary Lynne is one of the truest visionaries, leaders, and representatives our industry has ever had,” Suffredini said. “NASA and the whole of the U.S. government are valued partners in our efforts to preserve American leadership in space and open the floodgates of economic development and innovation in microgravity. She will tirelessly advocate for this vision and serve as an essential strategic voice. We are beyond thrilled to welcome her.” In selecting Axiom in January 2020 to attach its own privately developed modules to ISS, NASA marked the Houston company a key driver of its efforts to commercialize LEO through public-private partnership. Once constructed as a new segment of the ISS, the Axiom Station will separate when the ISS is decommissioned and form the core infrastructure layer of the LEO economy – an industrial park in orbit offering space infrastructure as a service, opportunities for microgravity manufacturing and research, and accommodations for national and private astronauts.
That mission is the first in a series Axiom Space plans to fly to the ISS as it develops a series of commercial modules it will add to the station beginning as soon as 2024, which themselves will be the core of a future stand-alone space station. “We’ve got things lined up for next three flights, Ax-2, 3 and 4,” he said. “We still have to work with NASA to figure out exactly when those flights can come to the ISS.”
You wanted a market for commercial human spaceflight?It's here.Ax-1, Ax-2, Ax-3, and Ax-4 – all now confirmed to fly on @SpaceX's Dragon.This landmark agreement between Axiom and @SpaceX – the industry leaders in human spaceflight and in orbital services and launch, respectively – ensures that the commercialization of low-Earth orbit is well underway.
Any plans to launch a mission with more than 4 people?
Yes, but not in the coming two years. This will come as our launch providers increase the authorized capacity in their crew capsules.
Might yet use Starliner for future missions but will need to prove its self first. D2 has good record so far which makes it safer bet to plan near term missions around.
I’d expect Starliner to be quite a bit more expensive than Dragon (especially launching on an Atlas V). So why might customers prefer Starliner? Or am I wrong about big price differential?
Ax-2 was announced some time ago but only today we know that it will fly on Crew Dragon. They might have done this only to extend the hype but it's more likely that Starliner was being actively considered but it lost.Axiom can easily switch providers and it is in their interest to have competition so the SpaceX bid must have been quite a lot better to win all three missions.
Quote from: DreamyPickle on 06/02/2021 10:12 pmAx-2 was announced some time ago but only today we know that it will fly on Crew Dragon. They might have done this only to extend the hype but it's more likely that Starliner was being actively considered but it lost.Axiom can easily switch providers and it is in their interest to have competition so the SpaceX bid must have been quite a lot better to win all three missions.SpaceX might have offer Axiom their version of a block buy. That is to say fixed prices for the 3 announced missions and maybe a few more unannounced. Axiom could hardly turn such an offer down.
Stumbled across the Ansys (engineering simulation software) blog featuring Axiom.There were a couple interesting tidbits with new (to me) information:Methane / O2 ThrustersQuote from: https://www.ansys.com/blog/axiom-space-is-using-ansys-simulationsAxiom engineers are relying on an innovative thruster powered by oxygen and methane to propel Axiom Hub One to the ISS.This one is a headscratcher to me. Understand that its likely engineering for the future (Axiom Station + Refueling Depot) but I don't believe that cryogenic fuels has been used for long term station keeping propulsion before. They will need to nail cryocoolers, the thermal design, manage boiloff, verify their sabatier design, and much more on their first orbital module.Granted the only new thing they are doing is just capturing a waste product of their ECLSS system (which is fully implemented already [up to the methane capture bit] in the current ISS ECLSS configuration today) so maybe it isn't that huge of a leap.This may also explain the embiggening of the service section of the modules (from tapered to cylindrical) Updated dimensions and massQuote from: https://www.ansys.com/blog/axiom-space-is-using-ansys-simulationsAxiom Hub ... is 60 feet long by 15 feet in diameter and weighs close to 60,000 pounds.LauncherQuote from: https://www.ansys.com/blog/axiom-space-is-using-ansys-simulationsThey will get a boost into space from a SpaceX or Blue Origin launcherI'm sure that the prime plan is to launch it on a Falcon Heavy fully reusable / center core expended. However, this is predicated on the extended fairing being ready and available to non military customers.Alternatives are:Starship with extra chompy chomper upgrade (due to how long this module is)New Glenn (if the Axiom module is really delayed or if BO gives them a sweetheart deal)Additionally, they seem to have forgotten Vulcan Centaur Heavy with the Long fairing. However, it was likely not considered either due to cost or availability. The mass and dimensions of the module line up nicely with Vulcan's payload specifications.
Axiom engineers are relying on an innovative thruster powered by oxygen and methane to propel Axiom Hub One to the ISS.
Axiom Hub ... is 60 feet long by 15 feet in diameter and weighs close to 60,000 pounds.
They will get a boost into space from a SpaceX or Blue Origin launcher
<snip>LauncherQuote from: https://www.ansys.com/blog/axiom-space-is-using-ansys-simulationsThey will get a boost into space from a SpaceX or Blue Origin launcherI'm sure that the prime plan is to launch it on a Falcon Heavy fully reusable / center core expended. However, this is predicated on the extended fairing being ready and available to non military customers.Alternatives are:Starship with extra chompy chomper upgrade (due to how long this module is)New Glenn (if the Axiom module is really delayed or if BO gives them a sweetheart deal)Additionally, they seem to have forgotten Vulcan Centaur Heavy with the Long fairing. However, it was likely not considered either due to cost or availability. The mass and dimensions of the module line up nicely with Vulcan's payload specifications.
Quote from: cohberg on 06/06/2021 05:14 pm<snip>LauncherQuote from: https://www.ansys.com/blog/axiom-space-is-using-ansys-simulationsThey will get a boost into space from a SpaceX or Blue Origin launcherI'm sure that the prime plan is to launch it on a Falcon Heavy fully reusable / center core expended. However, this is predicated on the extended fairing being ready and available to non military customers.Alternatives are:Starship with extra chompy chomper upgrade (due to how long this module is)New Glenn (if the Axiom module is really delayed or if BO gives them a sweetheart deal)Additionally, they seem to have forgotten Vulcan Centaur Heavy with the Long fairing. However, it was likely not considered either due to cost or availability. The mass and dimensions of the module line up nicely with Vulcan's payload specifications.Alternate Axiom Starship launcher concept. Presuming the modified Chomper Starship isn't available.The idea is to use a stripped down Starship upper stage without reentry hardware or regular nose cone. The Axiom station module is mounted on a payload adapter fairing on top of the stripped down Starship. The hollow 'third stage' nose cone with some attitude control ejected like a staging event before the Axiom module is deployed.This concept don't require a humongous composite payload fairing or modified Chomper hatch.
twitter.com/orbitalresonanc/status/1400199035827412997QuoteAny plans to launch a mission with more than 4 people?https://twitter.com/amirblachman/status/1400199411347697664QuoteYes, but not in the coming two years. This will come as our launch providers increase the authorized capacity in their crew capsules.
THALES ALENIA SPACE TO PROVIDE THE FIRST TWO PRESSURIZED MODULES FOR AXIOM SPACE STATION07/14/2021Extension of Human Presence in Low Earth OrbitThe World’s First Commercial Space Orbital Infrastructure and new comfortable home for humans in spaceExtending the boundaries of research and science activities in space for a more sustainable life on EarthIn this occasion, Thales Alenia Space and the Italian Air Force ratify a Memorandum of Collaboration for a variety of developments and tests in microgravityRome 15 July, 2021 – Thales Alenia Space, Joint Venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), and Axiom Space of Houston, Texas (USA), have signed the final contract for the development of two key pressurized elements of Axiom Space Station - the world’s first commercial space station. Scheduled for launch in 2024 and 2025 respectively, the two elements will originally be docked to the International Space Station (ISS), marking the birth of the new Axiom Station segment. The value of the contract is 110 Million Euro.Axiom Station will serve as humanity’s central hub for research, manufacturing and commerce in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), expanding the usable and habitable volume of the ISS, attached to the ISS Node 2 module, built also by Thales Alenia Space. When the ISS is decommissioned, the Axiom modules will detach and operate as a free-flying, next-generation commercial space station, a laboratory and residential infrastructure in space, that will be used for microgravity experiments in-space manufacturing, critical exploration life support testing, and hosting both private and professional institutional astronauts. Axiom Space Station will be the cornerstone of a permanent, prosperous human presence and a thriving network of commercial activity in LEO, enabling new advances both on Earth and further out in space. The first two elements to be launched will accommodate up to 4 people each.Today, in this occasion, Thales Alenia Space and the Italian Air Force have ratified a Memorandum of Collaboration, aiming to promote the access to low earth orbit in favour of institutions, the scientific community, industry and commercial operators, and the development of a research chain on strategic issues (medicine, materials, biogenetics, etc.) as well as to support the possibilities of technological development and OT&E (Operational Testing & Evaluation) in microgravity.Quote“The contact signed today with Axiom Space confirms the positioning of Thales Alenia Space as a leading industrial player in the New Space ecosystem, both for private and public missions”, stated Massimo Claudio Comparini, Thales Alenia Space Deputy CEO and Senior Executive Vice President Observation, Exploration & Navigation business line. “With the development of more than 50% of the ISS’ habitable volume, our Company has marked the history since the origins of Orbital Infrastructures programs. Based on this unique legacy, we are pioneering the future of human presence in LEO. We are pushing back the boundaries of space exploration and setting the basis for the Lunar Gateway and the Moon’s Surfaces ecosystem that will lead manned exploration missions to the red planet by the 2030’s. Humankind’s quest of sense in space is becoming a reality and we are so proud to contribute to making it come true”.Based on its past successful experience in building modules for the International Space Station, Thales Alenia Space is responsible for the design, development, assembly and test of the primary structure and the Micrometeoroid & Debris Protection System for the two Axiom modules.The welding activities of the primary structure of the first module will start in September 2021, with the assembly process concluding in 2022. The first module will arrive at Axiom facilities in Houston in July 2023, where Axiom will integrate and outfit the core systems and certify it for flight prior to shipping to the launch facility.Quote“We have convened an elite collection of expertise at Axiom to build and operate the world’s first commercial space station, and Thales Alenia Space fits right into that mold as a partner,” Axiom President & CEO Michael Suffredini, who previously served as NASA’s International Space Station Program Manager from 2005 to 2015, said. “This agreement confirms the primary structures for the next-generation destination in space will be constructed with an expert touch, serving as the core of the first human-rated spacecraft to ever be assembled in Houston.” The project is currently undergoing a detailed design phase: the four radial bulkheads for the first module have been recently developed in Thales Alenia Space facilities in Turin. These bulkheads provide the structure to which radial Common Berth Mechanisms (CBMs) and hatches will attach. Together, the four bulkheads, with their accompanying hardware form a cylindrical section, providing four ports for other station elements, including docking adapters. The cylindrical protrusions seen on the bottom half of the bulkhead will serve as a connecting unit, allowing power, data, and fluids to pass from one element to another, including Axiom modules and the ISS. © Thales Alenia Space
“The contact signed today with Axiom Space confirms the positioning of Thales Alenia Space as a leading industrial player in the New Space ecosystem, both for private and public missions”, stated Massimo Claudio Comparini, Thales Alenia Space Deputy CEO and Senior Executive Vice President Observation, Exploration & Navigation business line. “With the development of more than 50% of the ISS’ habitable volume, our Company has marked the history since the origins of Orbital Infrastructures programs. Based on this unique legacy, we are pioneering the future of human presence in LEO. We are pushing back the boundaries of space exploration and setting the basis for the Lunar Gateway and the Moon’s Surfaces ecosystem that will lead manned exploration missions to the red planet by the 2030’s. Humankind’s quest of sense in space is becoming a reality and we are so proud to contribute to making it come true”.
“We have convened an elite collection of expertise at Axiom to build and operate the world’s first commercial space station, and Thales Alenia Space fits right into that mold as a partner,” Axiom President & CEO Michael Suffredini, who previously served as NASA’s International Space Station Program Manager from 2005 to 2015, said. “This agreement confirms the primary structures for the next-generation destination in space will be constructed with an expert touch, serving as the core of the first human-rated spacecraft to ever be assembled in Houston.”
