On Thursday, four astronauts launched a private mission to the International Space Station or ISS. 

What sets this mission apart from previous ones is that it is backed by three countries – Italy, Sweden, and Turkey – each providing a crew member. It’s noteworthy that the Turkish crew member happens to be the first astronaut from his country. Unlike earlier space trips, there are no affluent space tourists who financed their journey to orbit.

The recent flight by Axiom Space of Houston marks a significant departure from the traditional approach of countries building their rockets and spacecraft for human spaceflight programs. It’s a new era where nations can purchase rides from commercial companies, just like buying a plane ticket, and launch their crewed missions to space stations. This shift is poised to open space exploration to a wider audience and accelerate space research and development.

A team of astronauts launched to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carried by a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch was delayed for a day but went off smoothly. The spacecraft is expected to reach the space station on Saturday.