What seemed completely impossible a few years ago is gradually becoming an increasingly recurring reality. And just this weekend, SpaceX and Axiom Space launched successfully the first space flight with a completely private crew heading for the International Space Station (ISS) paves the way for the future normalization of space travel.

Although at the moment this milestone and entertainment is still limited to a few people who can afford it, with prices still ridiculous who have had to spend nothing less than $ 55 million per capita each of the participants.

The mission, which is a partnership between Axiom, SpaceX and NASA, was offered to all three important step in the expansion of commercial space companies collectively referred to by experts as low-orbit economics or LEO economics. “We download commercial enterprises from the Earth’s surface into space“Bill Nelson, the head of NASA, said before the flight.

The mission therefore had a crew of Hispanic-American Michael López-Alegría, a former NASA astronaut and flight commander; American Larry Connor, founder of the real estate investment company Connor Group; Israeli Eytan Stibbe, former fighter pilot and founder of Vital Capital Investment Fund; and Mark Pathy of Canada, CEO of Mavrik Investment and Finance.

Although it should be noted that although they are not professional astronauts, this crew had to complete hundreds of hours of specialized training provided by SpaceX and Axiom Space to take part in this mission, learn basic protocols such as using the kitchen, practice personal hygiene in microgravity, and even train emergency responses in the event of something going wrong on board the ISS. .

After a successful launch on Friday, four astronauts from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida launched SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, confirming their arrival on the ISS yesterdaymaking it the first fully private manned space mission at the station.

Nine minutes after launch, the upper stage of the rocket placed the crew capsule in its preliminary orbit, according to launch commentators. Meanwhile, the reusable lower stage of the rocket, which was separated from the rest of the spacecraft, flew back to Earth and landed safely on the landing paddle floating on the unmanned ship in the Atlantic.

The crew will stay on the US ISS segment for eight dayswhere they perform more than 25 different research experiments. They then take off on the same Crew Dragon spacecraft, which currently transports them to the ISS and lands in the Atlantic Ocean.