Ax-4 Mission Director: Crew Will Be Very Busy While In Orbit

Participants of the two-week Ax-4 mission will be extremely busy during their short stay in orbit, Sergio Palumberi from the European Space Agency (ESA) told PAP. He added that similar commercial missions will play an increasingly important role.

The second Pole in history, Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, is scheduled to fly into Earth orbit in the Ax-4 mission on June 10.

Palumberi, who is the ESA Ax-4 mission manager, noted that the division of responsibilities between international agencies and companies cooperating on a commercial mission – and Ax-4 is one such – is precisely defined. Activities related to the mission are divided between four main partners: ESA, NASA and the American companies Axiom Space and SpaceX.

During commercial missions, ESA is responsible for the scientific preparation of the mission and support for astronauts from our continent – ​​in the case of Ax-4, this is Uznański-Wiśniewski.

“We are responsible for preparing the astronauts, including part of their training and medical support, as well as preparing all the experiments and coordinating activities before launch, during the mission and after return,” explained Sergio Palumberi.

Axiom Space, the mission’s prime contractor, is managing preparations and flight until the capsule approaches the International Space Station (ISS).

The operation of the Falcon 9 rocket and the Dragon capsule, in which the Ax-4 astronauts will fly to the ISS, is the responsibility of SpaceX.

In turn, NASA will take over responsibility for the mission when the vehicle enters the so-called ISS operating zone, which applies to a radius of several kilometers around the station.

“From that point on, NASA will coordinate activities related to the approach to the ISS and docking,” Palumberi explained.

He added that after the capsule connects with the station, the Ax-4 crew will be placed under the management of the ISS.

"NASA is responsible for the operation of the station, except for the Russian modules managed by the Roscosmos agency. ESA also has its own teams, for example, flight control for the European module of the Columbus space laboratory, which are responsible for all ESA activities on the ISS under the supervision of the NASA flight director from Houston," the mission manager emphasized.

He informed that ESA achieved 95% technical readiness of the Ax-4 mission more than two weeks before the launch, and it must be 100% ready two days before it. However, as he pointed out, even this may not be enough to start the launch procedure on the planned date. Weather conditions assessed during cyclical analyses will also decide on the flight approval.

"Weather briefings are held every few hours – from 48 to 8 hours before the planned launch. If the weather does not meet safety criteria, the launch may be postponed by a day or more. Delays resulting from unfavorable weather conditions usually do not exceed a few days," he explained.

The launch of the mission with the Polish astronaut was originally scheduled for May 29, but due to technical problems with the new Dragon capsule in which the astronauts will fly into orbit, it was postponed to June 8, and then to June 10. The launch window, or the time interval in which the spacecraft can launch, for the Ax-4 mission is open until the end of June.

Sergio Palumberi noted that commercial spaceflights differ from regular missions organized by NASA, ESA and international partners not only in terms of organizational structure but also in the regulations in force. He mentioned, among others, the strict regulations imposed by NASA on commercial partners.

"Private companies may have various interests - image or marketing. That is why NASA introduces restrictions to protect the ISS infrastructure from unauthorized use, for example in advertising," he added.

He stressed that commercial missions such as AX-4 have nothing to do with space tourism and media-publicized flights with celebrities on board.

"In our case, excellently prepared astronauts chosen by their countries or space agencies are sent into orbit. Their main task is to conduct experiments that will be important for the development of science and technology," the mission manager emphasized.

Ax-4 members are expected to perform more than 60 scientific experiments on the ISS, and the total research time of each crew member during the two-week mission is approximately 80 hours.

"Each experiment has its own team responsible for, among other things, its compliance with technical requirements, safety, logistics and operations. My role was to coordinate these activities. We had to plan them so that the experiments fit into the crew's working hours, provide them with power, data transmission and download or availability of refrigeration," he said.

All missions to the ISS, such as Ax-4, therefore require a very precise schedule, as astronauts are very busy while in orbit and teams on the ground strive to maximize the scientific potential of each mission.

“The Ax-4 crew will work very intensively,” admitted the ESA representative.

In his opinion, commercial flights will play an increasingly important role.

"NASA's philosophy is to transfer experience and responsibility to commercial companies, which in the future may become operators of their own orbital stations. Axiom Space is already working on creating a private station that could replace the ISS after its decommissioning. ESA wants to continue scientific research in low Earth orbit (LEO) after the ISS is deorbited," he explained.

Sergio Palumberi concluded: "ESA Member States have clearly stated that low Earth orbit science and the agency's astronaut flights remain a priority. And Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski's flight into orbit is a great opportunity for Poland to become an active member of this European orbital science community."

From Cocoa Beach Anna Bugajska (PAP)

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