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HospitalityStays in Orbit Today
Twenty flashcards on private stays aboard the space station and the commercial stations under NASA agreements, with facts from NASA and Vast.
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20 cards
- Since when has NASA offered the space station as a destination for private astronaut missions?
- Since 2019.
- What do private astronauts do once aboard the station?
- A mission of science, outreach and commercial activities.
- When did the first private astronaut mission, Axiom Mission 1, launch and for how long?
- April 2022, for a 17-day mission.
- Axiom Mission 2: when and who?
- May 2023, with four private astronauts who spent eight days in orbit.
- Axiom Mission 3: when and how long?
- January 2024; the crew spent 18 days docked to the station.
- Axiom Mission 4: when and how long?
- June 2025, for an 18-day stay.
- Who signed the fifth private astronaut mission and when is it targeted?
- Axiom Space, no earlier than January 2027 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
- Who signed the sixth private astronaut mission?
- Vast, its first selection, targeted no earlier than summer 2027 from Florida.
- Why do private astronaut missions matter for the future?
- They are pathfinders that show the demand for future commercial space stations.
- What did NASA award Axiom Space in 2020?
- A contract for at least one habitable commercial module attached to the space station, aiming to become a free-flying station.
- Which Axiom module goes up first under the order changed in December 2024?
- The Payload, Power, and Thermal Module; then Habitat 1, an airlock, Habitat 2 and the Research and Manufacturing Facility.
- Who signed Space Act Agreements with NASA in 2021 to design commercial stations?
- Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman and Starlab; Northrop Grumman later withdrew and joined Starlab.
- What did Starlab complete by July 2025?
- Five development and design milestones; its design is a service module and a habitat launched on a single flight.
- What is Starlab building at NASA Johnson?
- A full-scale, high-fidelity mockup for human-in-the-loop testing in the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility.
- What test did Blue Origin's Orbital Reef complete in April 2025?
- Human-in-the-loop testing, with day-in-the-life walkthroughs in life-sized mockups.
- Which living areas did that Orbital Reef test assess?
- Private crew quarters, dining area, lavatory, research laboratory, and berthing and docking hatches.
- What is the LIFE habitat for Orbital Reef made of?
- High-strength webbings and fabric that form a solid structure once pressurized; it completed a full-scale ultimate burst pressure test at NASA Marshall.
- What did Vast's Haven-1 air filter test at NASA Marshall confirm?
- That the trace contaminant control system can keep a safe, healthy atmosphere for all planned mission phases.
- What did Vast's Haven Demo achieve in orbit?
- Mission success after deploying from the Bandwagon-4 rideshare; it filmed its solar array deployment in 4K and is power positive.
- What record does Vast cite for the Haven-1 primary structure?
- It is the first space station flight article built in the U.S. in over 20 years.
Official sources
Vast
Haven-1
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