Overview
Axiom Space, founded in 2016, and has its headquarters located in Houston, Texas. [1] Their team has collaborated with NASA on every ISS mission since the program’s inception. The goal of Axiom Space is to make the possibilities of LEO accessible to governments, researchers, manufacturers, and individuals.
Starting in 2021, Axiom Space began hosting private missions to the ISS. In 2024, they will be building the first commercial space station starting in 2024. Axiom-1 is the name of their first mission to send private astronauts to the ISS. The astronauts will be on board for 8 days to conduct research for the private sector. Axiom Space believes this mission will “lay the groundwork for a full realization of Low Earth Orbit’s possibilities.” [2]
Partnership with SpaceLink
Axiom Space has partnered with SpaceLink to implement for demonstration of its end-to-end communications relay service on the ISS. SpaceLink completed an agreement with the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), manager of the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory, last year. SpaceLink also signed its subcontract with Axiom last week, making Axiom the liaison to ensure that all interfaces and system requirements meet NASA standards.
The SpaceLink demonstration will validate the use of a 10 Gigabit per second optical terminal for real-time voice, video, and data relay for ISS crew, onboard systems, and experiments. Last August, SpaceLink announced that it was selected by CASIS for a demonstration on the ISS under an agreement that is now fully executed.
Axiom’s role will be to leverage its expertise in working with NASA and the ISS National Laboratory to support mission integration, launch, and operations for the SpaceLink payload. Axiom will support SpaceLink as a liaison with NASA and will lead safety reviews to ensure SpaceLink hardware meets the requirements for the ISS.
The SpaceLink relay network will pick up where NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) left off and will utilize unprecedented capability that leverages the latest technology advances in optical communications. [3]