page_title: Axiom Space
section_title: Axiom Station
hierarchical_section_title: Axiom Space / Axiom Station
caption_attribution_description: English: Axiom Earth Observatory interior
context_page_description: Axiom Space, Inc., also known as Axiom, is an American privately funded aerospace manufacturer and orbital spaceflight services company headquartered in Houston, Texas. Founded in 2016 by Michael T. Suffredini and Kam Ghaffarian, the company is planning commercial missions in late 2021 to the International Space Station and aims to own and operate the world's first commercial space station. The company's leadership team is largely composed of former NASA employees, including former NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. Other notable leaders at the company include astronauts Michael Lopez-Alegria and Brent W. Jett Jr.
  As NASA shifts human spaceflight aspirations beyond low Earth orbit, Axiom's goal is to create the commercial infrastructure necessary to push humanity forward in space. The company outlines broad commercial activities including human spaceflight for national and private astronauts, in-space research and manufacturing, and space exploration support.
context_section_description: Axiom Station will have its spacecraft modules individually launched and assembled in-orbit, first attaching to the International Space Station. Before ISS retirement (and atmospheric reentry), the company plans to detach its modules and commence orbit on its own as Axiom Station. Axiom renderings show in detail how modules will attach to the ISS and are relocated by the Mobile Servicing System, specifically the Canadarm2. The company targets the mid-2020s for its first module to attach to the ISS and the late-2020s for station completion. Axiom plans for its station to be the first private space station in-orbit.
  Upon ISS retirement, Axiom Station will be separated from the ISS and joined by additional elements, including a power and thermal module with an airlock. Axiom plans to conduct astronaut training for commercial astronauts, to host governments and commercial partners, as well as private astronauts. Up to three Axiom modules will attach to the International Space Station. The first module could be launched as soon as 2024 and will docked to the forward port of Harmony, requiring relocation of the of PMA-2. Axiom Space plans to attach up to two additional modules to its first core module, and send private astronauts to inhabit the modules. 
  The interior of Axiom Station is designed by French architect and designer, Philippe Starck. Renderings of the habitat show a chamber with walls that are covered with tufted padding and studded with hundreds of color-changing LEDs. Axiom will maintain at least one astronaut in the station continuously, who will be able to take care of research projects and station repairs. The station will have amenities including high-speed Wi-Fi, video screens, picture windows and a glass-walled cupola — which Axiom calls "the largest window observatory ever constructed for the space environment."
caption: Axiom Earth Observatory interior
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