NASA has awarded Axiom Space its fifth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, reinforcing the accelerating shift toward commercial participation in low Earth orbit as the agency prepares for deeper space exploration.
The mission, known as Axiom Mission 5, is targeted to launch no earlier than January 2027 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew is expected to spend up to 14 days aboard the orbiting laboratory, with final launch timing dependent on overall spacecraft traffic and operational planning at the station.
The award follows a competitive selection process under NASA’s March 2025 Research Announcement and signals continued confidence in private astronaut missions as a core element of the ISS utilisation model. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman described the program as evidence that commercial spaceflight has moved beyond experimentation into operational reality, supporting the capabilities the agency will rely on for missions to the Moon and Mars.
Private astronaut missions have become an increasingly important mechanism for sustaining activity aboard the ISS as NASA gradually transitions toward a commercially supported low Earth orbit economy. According to NASA’s International Space Station Program, these missions enable the station to function as a proving ground for emerging markets, technologies and research models while maintaining its role as a platform for science and international collaboration.
Under the mission framework, Axiom Space will propose four crew members for review by NASA and its international partners. Once approved, the astronauts will train alongside NASA personnel, partner agencies and the launch provider ahead of the mission.
Axiom Space President and CEO Jonathan Cirtain said the fifth mission builds on the outcomes of the company’s previous four private flights, which have expanded international participation in human spaceflight and supported a broader range of scientific investigations in microgravity. Insights from these missions are also feeding directly into the development of Axiom Station, the company’s planned commercial space station intended to eventually succeed the ISS.
The contractual arrangement reflects the evolving public–private model underpinning low Earth orbit operations. Axiom Space will purchase mission services from NASA, including crew consumables, cargo delivery, storage and other on-orbit resources. In parallel, NASA will procure from Axiom the capability to return scientific samples that require cold stowage during transit back to Earth.
NASA has confirmed it is finalising the mission order for a sixth private astronaut mission and will release further details once that process is complete. Together, these missions are intended to sustain scientific output, validate new technologies and mature commercial capabilities as the agency advances its broader Moon to Mars exploration strategy, including upcoming Artemis lunar missions.
As the operational life of the International Space Station enters its later years, the continued cadence of private astronaut missions highlights how commercial providers are becoming integral to human spaceflight, not only as service suppliers, but as partners shaping the next phase of space infrastructure and exploration.
