First All-UK Mission Into Space – Who Could Join Tim Peake At Axiom Mission’s Team
26th Jul 2024Axiom Space, in partnership with the UK Space Agency and supported by ESA, plans to realise a commercial mission for four British astronauts as early as next year. Although ESA will support it, it will be the first time the UK has flown an independent mission.
British astronaut Tim Peake announced at the Farnborough International Airshow on Tuesday that he is joining the first commercial manned mission made up entirely of British astronauts. The astronaut announced last October that he was returning to orbit months after retiring from ESA’s astronaut corps.
Tim Peak’s Role In Axiom Space Mission
He is currently working for Axiom Space as a strategic advisor and will support the mission development of a future space mission. His role will also be to attract private sponsorship to make it happen.
Michael Lopez-Alegria, chief astronaut for Axiom Space, said: ‘His vision and guidance will be invaluable as we work to make this UK mission a reality.’
‘It helps to inspire young people to think about science and technology, engineering and maths, and to think about the career opportunities available to them in the space sector,’ said Tim Peake.
Mission Details
Last October, the UK Space Agency (UKSA) signed a £200 million agreement with US company Axiom Space to take an entirely British crew to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission will see British astronauts spend up to two weeks in orbit to conduct scientific research, demonstrate new technologies, and participate in education and outreach activities.
Anneliese Look, deputy chief executive of the UK Space Agency, said: ‘We don’t have enough people who want to join the space sector. We need our next generation to want to come and join and have a career in space.’
Axiom Space has already sent three private astronaut missions to the ISS, launching from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida using SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft and a Falcon 9 rocket.
The Mission Crew
Axiom space missions involve three crew members who must go with an experienced commander.
It has yet to be decided whether Tim Peake will command the mission.
So far, he is the number one candidate for the role of commander as he has a lot of experience—six months on the ISS. He also held several positions at the European Space Agency (ESA), including Head of Astronaut Operations, before retiring from the astronaut programme in January 2023.
As planned, he will lead the crew as commander during training.
Major Peake said that although he had not been in space for eight years, he continued to train and ensured his health was in good condition in case he was selected again.
The other crew members could be three Britons selected after a rigorous vetting process to join ESA’s astronaut programme in 2023 from 17 men and women chosen from 22,523 applicants.
Rosemary Coogan
Rosemary is a 33-year-old astrophysicist from Northern Ireland with two Master’s degrees from Durham University and a PhD in astronomy from Sussex.
She has worked on ESA missions such as EUCLID and analysing data from the James Webb Space Telescope.
She completed her basic training last year and received her Astronaut Wings badge in April.
She is the UK’s only career astronaut and an ESA-certified astronaut.
Megan Christian
Megan Christian, 37, completed her PhD in Industrial Chemistry at the University of New South Wales in 2014 and has received several national awards for outstanding research.
From 2018 to 2021, she worked as a winter scientist at Concordia Research Station in Antarctica. She participated in biomedical research conducted by ESA to study the effects of prolonged stays at the base during the Antarctic winter.
She trained in firefighting and extreme survival.
In 2022, she was selected from 17 applicants and is now an ESA reserve astronaut.
John McFall
A 42-year-old Paralympic sprinter, an accomplished surgeon and the world’s first ‘parastronaut’.
At the age of 19, he suffered a severe motorbike accident that resulted in the amputation of his right leg above the knee.
Despite this, McFall learned to run with a prosthetic leg and represented Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Paralympics, winning bronze in the 100 metres.
He studied medicine and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in 2016. He is a trauma and orthopaedic registrar working in the South of England
In 2022, ESA selected him for a feasibility study on astronauts with disabilities.
He wants to show by example that ‘space is for everyone’.
Mission Costs
Axiom Space said the mission is moving quickly and could be launched in late 2025 or early 2026 if sufficient funding can be secured and science designs prepared in time.
The launch will likely cost around £45 million for each of the four astronauts, and the mission relies heavily on private funding from companies wanting to conduct research in microgravity.
The UK Space Agency has already committed £15 million to send British science into space as part of the mission.
The remainder of the mission’s funding will likely come from sponsorship agreements with companies in the life sciences, data communications, and security sectors.
These companies could commission experiments for the crew, but any UK company could join.
A recent mission with an Italian astronaut on board attracted sponsorship from pasta manufacturers and a luxury car brand.
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