- He has participated in six space missions during his career and is currently chief astronaut of the company Axiom Space where he served as commander of Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1), the first private manned mission to the International Space Station, and later of Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3)
- The event will be held from March 17 to 21, 2025, with two face-to-face sessions at the Cartuja Auditorium -managed by Yventu- and three virtual sessions
Michael López-Alegría, the first Spanish-born astronaut to travel into space, will be an exceptional guest at the first edition of New Space & Solutions, to be held in Seville from March 17 to 21. His intervention in the auditorium via a connection from Houston will be the highlight of the second day in person, to be held on March 18 at the Cartuja Auditorium -managed by Yventu-.
The veteran astronaut will talk about his extensive experience after having participated in up to six space missions and will explain how his company, Axiom Space, of which he is chief astronaut, is preparing its next launch. It will be Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), the company’s fourth commercial astronaut mission to the International Space Station, scheduled to launch in the spring of 2025.
López-Alegría’s participation will also have a pedagogical and inspirational character. Andalusian schoolchildren from CEIP San Ignacio del Viar de Alcalá del Río (Seville) will be present at the Cartuja Auditorium to ask the guest questions and he will respond to the concerns of the youngest children who dream of becoming astronauts.
Michael López-Alegría: A Life in Space
Born on May 7, 1958 in Madrid, Michael López-Alegría grew up in the United States, where he pursued a career in aerospace to become a captain in the U.S. Navy and a veteran of multiple space flights. With a career spanning more than four decades as a naval aviator, engineering test pilot, NASA astronaut and commander of the International Space Station (ISS), Lopez-Alegria is currently chief astronaut for Axiom Space, where he has commanded two of the three commercial missions launched by the aerospace company.
At almost 67 years of age, Michael López-Alegría can point to having commanded the Axiom 1 Mission (Ax-1), the first private mission to the International Space Station in the history of mankind, and later to having commanded the Axiom 3 Mission (Ax-3).
Lopez-Alegria has participated in six space missions, including the two Axiom Space commercial missions mentioned above (Ax-1 and Ax-3), as well as space shuttle missions STS-73, STS-92 and STS-113, and Soyuz TMA-9 – to and from the ISS – where he was commander of Expedition 14.
He also holds the NASA record for the highest number of extravehicular activities (EVA) or “spacewalks” with a total of ten spacewalks and a cumulative time of 67 hours and 40 minutes. Among his many distinctions, Lopez-Alegria was elected to the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2020.
Axiom Space works on a ‘new’ EEI
Axiom Space is a privately held aerospace company based in Houston, Texas. Founded in 2016 by Michael Suffredini (former International Space Station program director at NASA) and Kam Ghaffarian, Axiom Space is building the world’s first commercial space station: the Axiom Station. This next-generation orbital platform, which will lay the foundation for continued human presence in space, will foster innovation and research in microgravity and strengthen the global space economy of the future.
Today, and with the goal of leading humanity’s journey off the planet, Axiom Space is the leading provider of commercial manned spaceflight services to the International Space Station and is developing advanced spacesuits for the Moon and low Earth orbit. Axiom Space is building a revolutionary space infrastructure that will enable our civilization to transcend Earth for the benefit of all human beings, worldwide.
All presentations will be available for on-demand viewing through El Observatorio, the digital platform of Medina Media Events, where each intervention will be available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, free of charge.
The first edition of ‘New Space & Solutions’ is organized by Medina Media Events with the collaboration of the City of Seville and the Ministry of University, Research and Innovation of the Andalusian Government and has the support of Rohde & Schwarz, ALTER, Ansys, Augusta Abogados, CT Ingenieros, DEKRA, Integrasys, Kistler, Orbital EOS, PARSEC, Proexca (Government of the Canary Islands), Space-Aero, Universidad Loyola Andalucía, CEU Universidad Fernando III, among others.