Astronauts from the United Kingdom could fly to space on a future Axiom Space mission, thanks to a new agreement signed between the UK Space Agency and the Houston-based space company
The agreement between the UK Space Agency and Axiom Space sets out plans for the 2 organisations to work together to pursue a commercially sponsored, UK astronaut mission.
The announcement comes as Science Minister George Freeman, is due to open the London Stock Exchange today (25 October), where he will speak about opportunities to bring further investment into the UK space sector.
On this future flight, the UK astronauts would launch to space, spending up to two weeks on orbit to carry out scientific research, demonstrate new technologies, and participate in education and outreach activities.
The mission would build on the UK government’s National Space Strategy and the UK Science and Technology Framework, which highlights the important contribution of international relationships to the UK’s capabilities and identifies five critical technologies; Artificial Intelligence, engineering biology, future telecommunications, semiconductors and quantum technologies.
George Freeman MP, Minister of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, said:
Michael Suffredini, Axiom Space CEO, said:
The UK Space Agency is calling on UK universities, research institutions and industry to share their ideas for experiments and technology demonstrators which could be conducted by the crew on orbit over a two-week period.
The UK Space Agency is also interested in ideas from UK organisations for a national space education and public engagement programme alongside the mission to highlight the diverse range of rewarding careers available in the space sector, promote STEM uptake, and highlight the powerful role of space in the lives of UK citizens.
Dr Paul Bate, Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency, said:
The UK Space Agency is working with Axiom Space on plans for a commercial mission with the full support of the European Space Agency.
Daniel Neuenschwander, Director of Human and Robotic Exploration at ESA, said:
UKspace President, Dr Alice Bunn, said:
Axiom Space is the commercial space industry’s only full-service orbital mission provider, conducting end-to-end crewed missions to the International Space Station. The expert team at Axiom Space is helping nations and organisations build human spaceflight programs, develop astronaut selection programs, and provide the expertise needed to expand the international community of space explorers to a larger and more diverse representation of humanity.