The Crew:
AXIOM-1 COMMANDER: MICHAEL LÓPEZ-ALEGRÍA
Michael López-Alegría was born in Madrid, Spain and immigrated as a young boy with his family to the United States. He has over 40 years of aviation and space experience with the U.S. Navy and NASA in a variety of roles including Naval Aviator, engineering test pilot and program manager, NASA astronaut, and International Space Station commander.
López-Alegría is currently the Vice President of Business Development for Axiom Space, and has been selected to command the crew of Ax-1, the first fully private orbital space mission in human history. He is a four-time astronaut, having flown on Space Shuttle missions STS-73, STS-92, and STS- 113, and served as Commander of ISS Expedition 14 (flying to and from the ISS aboard Soyuz TMA-9).
AXIOM-1 PILOT: LARRY CONNOR
Larry Connor is an accomplished private pilot who has flown more than 16 different aircraft, including an F-5 fighter jet, and is a rated helicopter pilot. He has won five aerobatic competitions and participated in multiple U.S. National Aerobatic Championships.
Connor is also an accomplished racecar driver, and his wide and varied career includes more than 70 race wins in formula, sports and off-road racing vehicles.
A real estate and technology entrepreneur, Connor has grown The Connor Group from $0 to $3.3 billion in assets since 1992. The company, which owns and operates luxury apartment communities, has been recognized as a top-50 workplace nationally by Glassdoor, as well as a multi-award winner nationally by Comparably (Best Company for Women, Best Culture and Best Compensation).
AXIOM-1 MISSION SPECIALIST 1: MARK PATHY
Mark Pathy is the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Montreal-based MAVRIK, an investment firm with a particular focus on innovation, entrepreneurship and responsible investing. MAVRIK’s team believes in identifying opportunities with companies or funds that are creating a positive impact and looks to support disruptive leaders striving to make a shift in the areas of environmental sustainability, food & agriculture, and social responsibility.
Pathy is a philanthropist who serves on the Board of the Pathy Family Foundation. He is also a member of the Boards and Executive Committees of the Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation and Dans la Rue, an organization supporting at-risk and homeless youth in Montreal, Canada.
AXIOM-1 MISSION SPECIALIST 2: EYTHAN STIBBE
Eytan Meir Stibbe was born in Haifa in 1958 and at the age of 7 moved to Ramat-Chen, a suburb of Tel Aviv, after returning from a few years of his father’s PhD studies in the United States. His parents previously immigrated from the Netherlands to Israel in 1953. His father, Ehud (Hugo), was a soil and water researcher at the ARO Volcani Institute in Rehovot, and his mother, Elma van Adelsberg, was a psychiatric social worker at the Ramat-Chen mental health center. Stibbe studied at the well-regarded Blich High School in Ramat Gan, played the violin, practiced Judo with the national youth team, and was active in the Israeli Scouts (Tzofim).
Eytan Stibbe is the founding partner of Vital Capital impact investment fund, established in 2010 with the aim of improving the situations of underserved populations in developing countries – especially in Africa – and mainly through partnerships with international development entities. Vital invests in enterprises that work to advance the economic, personal, and social well-being of low- and middle-income communities. The fund’s strategy is to invest in companies whose intention is to generate positive, measurable social and environmental impact alongside a competitive financial return. The companies must also firmly adhere to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles, based on the United Nations’ sustainable development goals.
