Axiom-3 could become SLC-40’s first crewed launch

Phil McAlister, director of NASA’s commercial space division, said that Axiom Space and SpaceX were in talks to fly Axiom-3 from SLC-40 rather than LC-39A like in the past. This would use the newly constructed crew access tower built to bring redundancy to SpaceX’s human spaceflight operations.

Axiom-3 to possibly launch from SLC-40

According to McAlister, who was speaking at a NASA Advisory Council’s human exploration and operations committee meeting on November 20, Axiom and SpaceX are talking about flying Axiom-3 from SLC-40. The launch pad that has launch the majority of SpaceX’s missions in 2023.

SpaceX recently completed construction of a new crew access tower with access arm for Crewed and Cargo Dragon flights at the old Titan launch site last month. This duplicates what SpaceX has had operationally at LC-39A since 2020.

Now incase LC-39A becomes inoperable for some reason, NASA and SpaceX will not loose the ability to launch crew to the ISS. This also allows SpaceX to potentially begin more Starship operations at LC-39A, now that NASA can’t loose crewed flight access if something goes wrong.

However, nothing points to SpaceX moving over any early Starship launches to the Space Coast any time soon.

We wondered when or if SpaceX would attempt a crewed flight from SLC-40 soon as most of its operations for human spaceflight are located over at Kennedy. But if these talks that McAlister has revealed formalize, a crewed flight might be in the books for January.

Axiom-3 is a short duration private astronaut mission to the ISS slated to liftoff no earlier than January 2024. All publications from Axiom have said the mission will fly from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, not the Space Force’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, but that can always change.

The Axiom-3 crew will consist of all European astronauts, a first for a flight to the ISS. Commanded by former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría, a dual US and Spain citizen, the crew will consist of an Colonel from the Italian Air Force, a Türkish fighter pilot, and an ESA astronaut from Sweden.

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This would beat out Boeing’s potential first

And if the company didn’t need to be continually beaten to the ground for its delays, if Axiom-3 flies from SLC-40 it would beat Boeing to what was suppose to be an easy historical return to crewed flight to the Cape.

Boeing’s Crewed Flight Test is currently slated to launch in April and would be the first human spaceflight mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station since Apollo 7 in 1968. However, if Axiom-3 flies from SLC-40, that would take that honor over CFT.

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft has faced setback after setback with the most recent one being the need to replace tape and parachute softlinks. This delayed a hopeful summer launch this year for a spring one next year. Even though originally Boeing was suppose to beat SpaceX to launching crew years ago.

This should subtract from the importance from Boeing’s first crewed flight as it will mark for the first time NASA’s ability to have two independent options for US crewed flights to space. Even if Boeing’s offering has very little commercial viability after the ISS is retired.