International Space Station: First all-private astronaut crew readies for launch

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A view of the International Space Station as it orbits the Earth.
A view of the International Space Station as it orbits the Earth. © Reuters / NASA / file image
Video by: Sam BALL

For the first time in its more than 20 years of operation the International Space Station (ISS) is getting ready to welcome its first-ever all-private astronaut team. A four-man crew assembled by Houston-based start-up Axiom are set to blast off for the ISS on Friday in what the company and NASA have hailed as a major milestone in the growing commercialisation of spaceflight.