Correct Answer :   SpaceX

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) here today (18th Jan 2024) at 4:49 p.m. EST (2149 GMT), sending the Crew Dragon capsule "Freedom" skyward on Ax-3, the third mission organized by Houston company Axiom Space. The launch was originally scheduled for Wednesday (Jan. 17) but was delayed a day to allow more time for prelaunch checks.

The four-person Ax-3 is led by Michael López-Alegría, a former NASA astronaut who now serves as Axiom Space's chief astronaut. He's joined by mission pilot Walter Villadei, an Italian Air Force colonel who flew to suborbital space with Virgin Galactic last summer; Turkey's first astronaut, Alper Gezeravc?; and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut reserve member Marcus Wandt. Gezeravc? and Wandt will serve as mission specialists.

López-Alegría is a citizen of Spain as well as the U.S., so Axiom bills Ax-3 as "the first all-European commercial astronaut mission" to the ISS.

The Falcon 9's successful liftoff and staging were followed by the return to Earth of the rocket's first stage. The booster touched down at SpaceX's Landing Zone-1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, which is next door to KSC, a little less than eight minutes after launch as planned.

Freedom separated from the Falcon 9's second stage about 12 minutes after liftoff, beginning the capsule's roughly 36-hour orbital journey to rendezvous with the ISS.

"Walter, Alper and Marcus: Congrats, and welcome to your first flight on Dragon," SpaceX launch director Mark Soltys said to the Ax-3 crew shortly after Freedom's deployment. "Mike, on the other hand, welcome to the Dragon frequent flyer club. I imagine you'll have enough miles to qualify for platinum status after this flight."

As that note indicates, Villadei, Gezeravc? and Wandt had not flown with SpaceX before; indeed, Ax-3 is the first orbital mission for all three. López-Alegría, on the other hand, now has six spaceflights under his belt, including the Ax-1 mission to the ISS in April 2022. He is the first astronaut ever to fly on Dragon twice.

Freedom is scheduled to catch up with the space station early Saturday morning (20th Jan 2024), docking with the Harmony module at around 5:15 a.m. EST (1015 GMT). Hatch opening between Freedom and the ISS will occur not long after that, followed by an Ax-3 crew welcome ceremony with the station's entire complement.

The Ax-3 astronauts will spend about two weeks working as integrated residents of the orbital laboratory, conducting microgravity research and science. Experiments performed by the Ax-3 crew will include investigations into physics, human health and outer space medicine. Some of this research will help Axiom better understand and develop training programs for their astronauts on future flights.

Private crew mission: Axiom Space Mission 3