The Czech government has signed a memorandum of understanding with US-based commercial spaceflight company Axiom Space. The agreement will lay the groundwork for a future mission to space for Czech ESA reserve astronaut Aleš Svoboda.
In November 2022, the European Space Agency announced that, from 22,500 applicants, it had selected five new career astronauts and twelve reserve astronauts, a new position within the European Astronaut Corps. One of the twelve reserve astronauts selected was Aleš Svoboda of Czechia.
In June 2024, Czechia announced the creation of the Czech Journey to Space project intending to stimulate the growth of the Czech space industry. One of the primary focuses of the project is to inspire the country’s youth to pursue STEM careers. The primary catalyst for that inspiration will be to send Aleš Svoboda to space.
“To achieve the goals and motivate young people, we want to use the success of Aleš Svoboda, who was selected as an ESA astronaut reserve, and go even further by successfully completing the project of the first Czech astronaut, sending him into space with scientific experiments within five years,” said the Minister of Transport Martin Kupka when the Czech Journey to Space project was first announced.
On 4 September 2024, the Ministry of Transport announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Axiom Space to begin preparing for the mission.
“As past flights into space inspired the technological leaders of the last decades, the Czech space project stimulates the new generation’s interest in science and technology,” explained Minister Kupka following the announcement.
A growing trend
Czechia isn’t the first country to purchase a ride to space for an ESA reserve astronaut. Earlier this year, Sweden’s Marcus Wandt became the first of ESA’s new astronaut class to fly into space aboard Axiom Mission 3 despite being selected as an astronaut reserve. Poland’s Sławosz Uznański will be the next ESA reserve astronaut to fly into space with the country securing a flight for him aboard Axiom Mission 4.
The United Kingdom plans to purchase all four seats aboard an Axiom flight to the International Space Station. This flight will likely include astronaut reserve Meganne Christian, career astronaut Rosemary Coogan, and ESA’s first parastronaut John McFall. The fourth seat aboard the flight will be taken by retired ESA astronaut veteran Timothy Peake, who has spent just over 185 days in space.
As no Hungarian citizens were selected as ESA reserve astronauts, the country undertook its own astronaut selection process. The country’s selected astronaut, Tibor Kapu, will join Poland’s Sławosz Uznański aboard Axiom Mission 4.
