After a series of last-minute postponements, it looks like it will finally happen tomorrow: Israeli astronaut Eitan Steve and his three colleagues will be launched into space from Cape Canaveral, Florida, as part of Mission AX-1 (Hebrew: "Sky"), the first private mission to take off to the International Space Station.
The launch is expected to start around 18:00 (Israel time), with an emphasis on the word "expected".
Several sudden shifts in the launch date, including in the face of weather conditions, have already taught the mission's architects - the American company Axiom, the Israeli space agency at the Ministry of Science and the Ramon Foundation - not to commit to any date, and no one promises no further delays.
One way or another, the astronauts themselves made a kind of "general rehearsal" yesterday for the mission, in which the missile is already located at the launch site.
Yesterday they woke up at three in the morning to adjust to London time, according to which the International Space Station operates.
"We will perform pressure tests on our space suits to make sure they are airtight," Steva told Israel Today in an interview about his and his colleagues' recent preparations.
Steve and the crew, Photo: Axiom Ax1ZeroG
Who will you miss the most during the ten days of the mission during which you will be in space?
"Of course I will miss Ora, my wife and my partner for life, and the whole family. We will hold a Pesach Seder at the station without the family, but I'm sure I'll make phone calls and attend their Seder night with them."
"Visitors will be able to see how life is in space"
Ahead of the launch, we spoke with Meirav Katriel Starker, director of the Sky Mission, "We are in peak excitement. Our dreams are becoming a reality these days."
"Visitors will be able to see how life in space, simple actions we do on Earth take on a different meaning when in space in a state of gravity, an example of such a thing is going into the bathroom or going to sleep. Sleep is done when the astronauts are tied to a sleeping bag and they sleep "Special and, among other things, the urine is recycled and purified and also becomes drinking water. There is no glass or plate in the space because of gravity, and eating and drinking are done in a certain way that can also be seen and experienced in a heavenly compound."
Visitors to the Sky Complex will be able to experience the entire process that the astronauts go through, from launching the spacecraft, disengaging and docking and then you can understand how the process works until the moment of returning to Earth.
Visitors will be able to experience it all using a special simulator that illustrates the experience.
Preparing for launch: Steve and crew, Photo: Axiom Space & SpaceX
Alongside the display and the experiential aspect, there is also the control room, through which the Israeli team will manage the communication with Eitan Steve at the space station and monitor the tasks that Steve performs.
The control room in Tel Aviv is in continuous contact with the control room in Houston and all operations between them will also be transferred to the control center in Israel.
In addition, you can see the objects that Steve will take with him into space, from the flight wings of the late Assaf Ramon to the restoration of the space diary of the late Ilan Ramon.
Who can visit?
Students from schools that took part in the activity will arrive at the control room every day until 5 p.m.
Those who will not be able to attend will be able to watch the entire launch and activity process of Eitan Steve at the live station on the YouTube page of the Sky Mission.
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