Axiom Space

Recognized under Tier 3 — Structural Habitats, Axiom Space is a Houston-based company developing the first commercially built modules intended to attach to, and eventually operate independently of, the International Space Station. Founded in 2016 by former NASA ISS program manager Michael Suffredini and Kam Ghaffarian, the company has flown four private astronaut missions to the ISS since Ax-1 in April 2022, most recently Ax-4 in June 2025 commanded by Peggy Whitson. Its first station element, the Payload, Power, and Thermal Module (PPTM), is in fabrication ahead of planned ISS integration, with a habitation module to follow. Axiom has also contracted outside suppliers, including Redwire for roll-out solar arrays, to outfit the module. As one of NASA's Commercial LEO Destinations partners, Axiom's module-by-module build approach — proving pressurized structures and life support in orbit before full separation from the ISS — is a direct precursor to the incremental habitat assembly methods any Mars-bound outpost will need to rely on.