Axiom Space, a Houston-based spaceflight company, is preparing to launch its fourth mission to the International Space Station (ISS) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on Tuesday, June 10. 

The four-person Ax-4 crew plans to launch aboard a brand-new SpaceX Dragon capsule propelled by a Falcon 9 rocket at approximately 8:22 a.m. ET, according to an emailed Axiom statement. If the mission launches on time, the crew will dock with the ISS on Wednesday, June 11, around 12:30 p.m. ET. They will then spend about two weeks conducting more than 60 scientific experiments, technology demonstrations, and outreach events aboard the space station. Their return date has not yet been set.

Axiom Space will begin livestreaming the event at 6:15 a.m. ET, and you can watch right here. NASA and SpaceX will also host their own live coverage of the launch starting at 7:25 a.m. and 6:15 a.m. ET, respectively.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAue1QljRg4[/embed]

Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut who holds the national record for the most cumulative days spent in space (a whopping 675 over the course of her career), will defend her title by serving as mission commander for Ax-4. While preparing for this mission, she was inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame on May 31.

Before retiring from NASA in 2018, Whitson conducted three ISS missions, serving as space station commander twice and performing more than 60 hours of spacewalks. She joined Axiom Space in 2022 and is now the company’s director of human spaceflight.

“Ax-4 represents another important step forward in the evolution of commercial spaceflight and international collaboration in low Earth orbit,” Whitson said during a June 3 press briefing, according to Florida Today. “Each mission we fly builds on the last, expanding our capabilities and deepening our understanding of how we can sustainably live and work in space.”

Whitson will be joined by pilot Shubhanshu Shukla of India, mission specialist Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland, and mission specialist Tibor Kapu of Hungary. These three countries are sending astronauts to the ISS for the first time in more than 40 years, marking their return to human spaceflight. What’s more, Uznański-Wiśniewski and Kapu will be the first astronauts from Poland and Hungary to stay on board the ISS, according to NASA. 

Aside from Whitson, all members of the Ax-4 crew paid a hefty price to participate in this mission. Business Insider reports that Axiom Space offers tickets to the ISS for around $70 million, with a complimentary year of astronaut training. That’s a lot pricier than offerings by space tourism companies such as Blue Origin or Virgin Galactic. But unlike those experiences—which provide just a few minutes of low-gravity and stunning Earth views—Axiom Space delivers a two-week stay on the ISS. 

An Axiom spokesperson told Business Insider that these trips are available to countries, space agencies, researchers, organizations, and individuals but they have to align with the company’s mission and long-term goals. 

The Ax-4 mission, for example, will mark another milestone on the road to the first commercial space station. In 2020, NASA awarded Axiom Space a $140 million contract to build a space station that will ultimately replace the ISS. The company aims to launch and attach “Axiom Station” to the ISS in 2027, which will allow for a transition before NASA decommissions the ISS in 2030. After that, Axiom Station will serve as a free-flying orbital laboratory. Like the three ISS missions that came before it, Ax-4 will allow the crew and Axiom Space’s mission control to gain experience working in orbit and managing space station activities from the ground.  

The Ax-4 crew completed a full dress rehearsal of launch-day activities over the weekend, and SpaceX conducted a static fire test of Falcon 9. In a Sunday post, SpaceX said it was reviewing static test data and keeping an eye on weather in the ascent corridor ahead of Tuesday’s launch. As of 11 a.m. ET Monday, the forecast predicts partly cloudy morning conditions at Cape Canaveral followed by scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. Here’s hoping inclement weather won’t interfere with the launch.