Saab’s chief test pilot for the Gripen, Marcus Wandt, has traded the cockpit for a roughly two-week stint aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
The former Swedish air force fighter pilot is part of a four-man crew launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 18 January aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The Dragon spacecraft carried by the launcher autonomously docked with the ISS roughly 36h later, on 20 January.
“The crew will spend about two weeks conducting microgravity research, educational outreach, and commercial activities aboard the space station,” NASA says. It notes that Axiom Space’s Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) is “the first all-European commercial astronaut mission to the space station”.
“The crew will conduct more than 30 scientific experiments and demonstrations focused on human physiology and technological industrial advancements,” Axiom Space says.
Saab notes that it has part-funded the Ax-3 mission, “aiming to ensure that Sweden remains at the forefront of space research”.
“This is a significant and major event for both Sweden and Saab; space is becoming an increasingly important area for Sweden and our defence capabilities,” says the company’s chief executive, Micael Johansson. “We are proud that one of our employees is now the third Swede in space,” he adds.
Wandt was selected for the European Space Agency’s space programme in late 2022, as a project astronaut. He is currently on a sabbatical from his role at Saab, which in June 2017 involved him conducting the first flight of a prototype Gripen E.
“The [Ax-3] mission is scheduled to conclude on 3 February with undocking, culminating in a splashdown off the coast of Florida aboard the Dragon spacecraft,” Axiom Space says.
