Sat, Dec 21, 2024 page5 SpaceX, Vast to fly more private crew ISS missions AFP, WASHINGTON Elon Musk’s SpaceX is planning to fly private crew missions to the International Space Station (ISS) in partnership with a California-based start-up, the two companies said on Thursday. The missions are contingent on approval by NASA and involve the firm Vast, which also aims to launch the world’s first commercial space station as early as next year. “Enabling payload and crewed missions to the ISS is a key part of Vast’s strategy, allowing us to further our collaboration with NASA and global space agencies,” Vast chief executive officer Max Haot said in a statement, which did not provide a timeline. The International Space Station is pictured on Sept. 19 from the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour during a fly-around of the orbiting lab that took place following its undocking from the Harmony module space-facing port on Nov. 8, 2021. Photo: AFP / NASA SpaceX has previously flown three private missions to the orbital laboratory with Axiom Space and is preparing for a fourth. The company has also partnered with Polaris, a venture led by entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, for two orbital voyages, one of which featured the first spacewalk by non-professional astronauts. Isaacman has been nominated by US president-elect Donald Trump as the next NASA administrator, reflecting an era of expanding public-private partnerships in space. “I am excited to work with Vast as they build more opportunities and destinations for more people to travel amongst the stars,” SpaceX president and chief operating officer Gwynne Shotwell said. Such missions cater to wealthy people and sovereign governments. The last Axiom mission included astronauts from Italy, Sweden and Turkey, whose seats were sponsored by their respective nations. Vast, founded in 2021, said it is in discussions with several governments, including the Czech Republic, about missions. With the ISS set to be decommissioned in 2030, Vast is among several companies competing to build and launch the world’s first commercial space station. The company plans to launch a mini-station, Haven-1, next year, followed by Haven-2, a larger station designed to fully replace the ISS. “Vast’s long-term ambition is to create artificial gravity habitations that enable humans to live in space,” the company said. Other contenders for the first commercial space station include Axiom Space, Voyager Space in partnership with Airbus and Blue Origin in collaboration with Sierra Space. Most Popular North Korean troops killed in Kursk 2024-12-18 Ukraine’s military intelligence agency and the Pentagon on Monday said that some North Korean troops have been killed during combat against Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk border region. Those are the first reported casualties since the US and Ukraine announced that North Korea had sent 10,000 to 12,000 troops to Russia to help it in the almost three-year war. Ukraine’s military intelligence agency said that about 30 North Korean troops were killed or wounded during a battle with the Ukrainian army at the weekend. The casualties occurred around three villages in Kursk, where Russia has for four months been trying to quash a