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The first all-private flight to the International Space Station (ISS) is set to take off on Friday. The mission, organised by the US company Axiom Space, will send a crew of four persons to the space station. However, unlike previous flights to ISS, this mission will not include any current NASA astronauts and all the crew members are civilians. One of the crew members is a former retired NASA astronaut. He is currently employed by the Houston-based firm and the rest are entrepreneurs. The crew will stay on ISS for eight…

The first fully private mission to the International Space Station blasted off from Florida Friday with a four-member crew from startup company Axiom Space.NASA has hailed the three-way partnership with Axiom and SpaceX as a key step towards commercializing the region of space known as "Low Earth Orbit," leaving the agency to focus on more ambitious voyages deeper into the cosmos.A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon capsule Endeavor launched at 11:17am (1517 GMT or 8:47pm IST) from the Kennedy Space Center, and…

With a four-member crew from Houston-based startup Axiom Space, the first fully private mission reached the International Space Station (ISS) early on Saturday. For a long time, NASA has attempted to hand over the reins of space exploration to private companies. The space agency has welcomed the three-way collaboration with Axiom and SpaceX as a critical step toward commercialising the “Low Earth Orbit” sector of space. The ISS is set to be decommissioned in 2031. NASA is hoping that a privately owned station will be able…

Three wealthy businessmen and a former NASA astronaut splashed down Monday off the Florida coast after spending more than two weeks aboard the International Space Station, in a landmark mission for the commercial sector.After a dizzying descent, a SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying the Axiom-1 gently floated down to the Atlantic Ocean near Jacksonville at 1:06 pm (1706 GMT, or 10:36pm IST) on four huge parachutes.The spaceship was affectionately referred to as a "toasted marshmallow" because of the scorch marks on its heat…