How and when to watch the first all-private mission to the International Space Station

Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Axiom-1, the first all-private mission to the International Space Station, is set for launch Friday morning, and you can watch live through multiple live streaming options. But unlike Nasa astronauts, the Axiom-1 crew are an entirely private crew, and with the exception of mission commander Michael López-Alegría, a former Nasa astronaut — and former vice president of Axiom — some have no spaceflight experience: Investment banker Mark Pathy, education nonprofit executive Larry Connor, and Israeli Air Force veteran and businessman Eytan Stibbe paid $55m each for the opportunity to fly to the ISS. The company has since been developing the module intending to add more units over time until the Axiom has sufficient infrastructure to detach from the ISS and fly as a stand alone commercial space station. Nasa has specifically asked industry to develop commercial space stations, the space agency citing its intention to get out of the space station business once the ISS is retired at the end of the decade, instead focusing on deep space exploration on the Moon and Mars, and Science missions throughout the Solar System.