Axiom Station Explained: Modules, Timeline and How to Get Access

Axiom Station is the commercial space station that Houston-based Axiom Space is building to follow the International Space Station. Its first module is in final assembly at Thales Alenia Space in Turin, and Axiom said on 5 October 2026 that it plans to launch that module in 2028, with a second module less than a year later. Together the two modules are to form a free-flying station for four crew. Until then, the way into the Axiom ecosystem is a private astronaut mission to the ISS or a research partnership.

This guide explains the planned modules, how the timeline has changed, how Axiom Station fits into NASA's plan for the end of the ISS and what researchers, agencies and companies can do today to get access. All facts come from Axiom Space, NASA and ESA. If you are planning cargo or an experiment for low Earth orbit, you can compare options and send a request via cargo transport on Carrier Space, and crew flights via passenger flights.

Axiom Station at a glance

Operator: Axiom Space, Houston, Texas. CEO and President: Dr. Jonathan Cirtain.
Prime structures: built by Thales Alenia Space in Turin, Italy; final integration and testing in Houston, launch from Kennedy Space Center.
First module launch: planned for 2028 according to Axiom (October 2026).
Second module: planned to launch less than a year after the first; it can wait in orbit until it docks with the first module.
Crew capacity: the first two modules together form a station for four crew, according to Axiom.
Power: Redwire builds two Roll-Out Solar Array (ROSA) wings each for the first and the second module.
NASA basis: a 2020 contract to provide at least one habitable commercial module, originally to be attached to the ISS.

The planned modules

Axiom's station page lists five elements in the order they are planned to be added:

Payload Power Thermal Module (PPTM): provides power, thermal control and payload capacity. In the sequence on Axiom's page, it berths to the ISS first and takes over critical infrastructure and payloads.
Habitat One (Hab-1): four crew quarters and the start of research and manufacturing capabilities.
Airlock: adds spacewalk (EVA) capability, developed in parallel with Axiom's AxEMU spacesuit.
Habitat Two (Hab-2): more crew quarters and more research and manufacturing room.
Research and Manufacturing Facility with Earth observatory: laboratory facilities and a large windowed observatory.

NASA's commercial space station page shows the same five elements in its rendering of the completed Axiom Station.

How the timeline changed

The original idea, written into NASA's 2020 selection, was simple: Axiom would attach at least one module to the ISS, at the forward port of Node 2, and later separate as an independent station before the ISS is retired. Axiom's station page still describes a PPTM that berths to the ISS and a Hab-1 that connects to it after PPTM departs from the ISS.

The most recent statement points to a different start. In its press release of 5 October 2026, published during the International Astronautical Congress in Antalya, Axiom wrote that the first module is in final assembly in Turin, will then move to Houston for integration and testing and on to Kennedy Space Center for launch in 2028. The second module, which is preparing for final assembly at Thales Alenia Space, is to follow less than a year later and can loiter in orbit until it is ready to dock. Axiom describes the pair as a "four crew-capable, operational free-flying space station".

The release does not say whether the first module will still visit the ISS. For planning, the safe reading is: no Axiom module is in orbit in 2026, the first launch target is 2028 and a crewed free-flyer depends on the second module arriving within about a year.

Where Axiom Station fits in NASA's plan

NASA plans to end ISS operations in 2030 and wants to avoid a gap in crewed access to low Earth orbit. Its programme has three steps:

Phase 1: NASA supports design and development, including Axiom's 2020 contract and the 2021 Space Act Agreements with Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman and Starlab. NASA's 2020 contract with Axiom had a maximum potential value of 140 million US dollars including options.
Next phase: on 9 October 2026 NASA released its final Request for Proposals for commercial stations. Proposals are due on 8 December 2026 and awards are expected in spring 2027. NASA intends to select two or more contractors for early development, followed by a competitive task order for final design, certification and services from one or more of them.
Services: after certification, NASA plans to buy station services and be one customer among many.

Axiom, Starlab, Vast and other companies can compete in that solicitation. Which stations NASA will fund is therefore open until 2027. Our overview After the ISS: who is building the commercial space stations? describes the other projects.

Access today: private astronaut missions

Axiom has flown four private astronaut missions to the ISS, according to NASA: Ax-1 in April 2022 (17 days), Ax-2 in May 2023, Ax-3 in January 2024 (18 days docked) and Ax-4 in June 2025 (18 days). On 30 January 2026 NASA and Axiom signed an order for Axiom Mission 5, targeted to launch no earlier than January 2027 from Kennedy Space Center for up to 14 days on the station.

NASA explains how these missions are paid: Axiom buys services from NASA such as crew consumables, cargo delivery, storage and other in-orbit resources, and NASA buys from Axiom the capability to return scientific samples that must be kept cold. Axiom proposes four crew members, who must be approved by NASA and the international partners before training.

Axiom is no longer the only company with such an order. NASA selected Vast for the sixth private mission, no earlier than summer 2027, and Voyager Technologies for the seventh, no earlier than 2028.

Access today: research, agencies and partners

University Alliance: Axiom says its alliance has grown to 36 institutions in 16 nations. ETH Zürich joined in October 2026.
ESA: on 10 September 2026 Axiom and ESA signed a memorandum of understanding. It covers potential ESA astronaut missions on the ISS and Axiom Station, the possible use of a European cargo return service and potentially a European crew vehicle for Axiom Station, and EVA training with the AxEMU suit at the European Astronaut Centre. It is not a purchase.
Commercial research: Axiom has signed agreements with biotech and research partners, for example a memorandum with Exobiosphere on drug discovery in October 2026.

For a company with a payload, the practical route until Axiom Station flies is the ISS: through a private astronaut mission, the ISS National Laboratory or a service provider. Our guide How to send an experiment to the ISS walks through those routes.

How crew and cargo will reach Axiom Station

Axiom has not published a final transport plan for the free-flying station. What is documented: the ESA memorandum mentions European cargo return and possibly a European crew vehicle as part of the transportation system for Axiom Station. Cargo vehicles that could serve commercial stations are compared in space station cargo vehicles compared.

What this means for planning

Before 2028: plan any microgravity work on the ISS. Its operations are scheduled to end in 2030.
From 2028: the first Axiom module is planned to launch; crewed operations depend on the second module.
Risk: NASA's next awards in spring 2027 will shape which stations are funded. Our own advice: keep a second option, for example Starlab or Vast, in any long-term plan.
Return of samples: ask early how your samples get back to Earth, because only a few vehicles can return cargo. See downmass explained.

FAQ

When will Axiom Station launch?

Axiom plans to launch the first module in 2028 and the second less than a year later, according to its press release of 5 October 2026.

Will Axiom Station be attached to the ISS?

That was the original plan under NASA's 2020 contract, and Axiom's station page still shows the Payload Power Thermal Module berthing to the ISS. Axiom's latest release describes the first two modules as a free-flying station. The release does not mention an ISS stop.

How many people can live on Axiom Station?

Four crew once the first two modules are joined, according to Axiom. Hab-1 provides four crew quarters, and Hab-2 adds more.

Who builds Axiom Station?

Axiom Space leads the project. Thales Alenia Space builds the primary structures in Turin, and Redwire supplies the ROSA solar array wings for the first two modules.

How can I fly to space with Axiom?

Through a private astronaut mission to the ISS. Axiom Mission 5 is targeted for no earlier than January 2027. Crew members must be approved by NASA and the ISS partners.

Can a company book research on Axiom Station?

Not as a station booking yet. Today Axiom offers research on its ISS missions and through partnerships, for example its University Alliance.

Sources

Cover image: The International Space Station above the Earth's limb, photographed during a fly-around by Space Shuttle Endeavour on STS-100, 29 April 2001. Credit: NASA