Italian Air Force colonel and pilot
Walter Villadei is in orbit after blasting off from the Kennedy
Space Center in Florida on Thursday as part of four-strong
European crew on the Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3).
Run by the private Axiom Space entity, it is first all-European
commercial astronaut mission to the International Space Station
(ISS).
The mission's Dragon spacecraft is set to dock at the ISS early
on Saturday.
European Space Agency (ESA) project astronaut Marcus Wandt from
Sweden, Alper GezeravcÕ from Turkey and Michael López-Alegría, a
dual US-Spanish citizen, are also in the crew.
Villadei has extensive experience in Italian space programs,
including multiple assignments as a member of the scientific
committee of the Italian Space Agency and national
representative for the European Commission for the Space
Surveillance and Tracking Program.
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