Axiom Space, founded in 2016 by Kam Ghaffarian and Michael T. Suffredini, is a Houston-based space infrastructure developer working on the world’s first international commercial space station. This station is designed to host government astronauts, tourists, private companies, and support in-space research and manufacturing.​ The company is led by a team primarily composed of former NASA employees with hands-on experience in developing and managing the International Space Station (ISS). Axiom Space has been exclusively selected to connect its commercial space station to the ISS. The company plans to launch its modules individually, attaching them to the ISS for assembly in space. Once the ISS is retired, Axiom’s station will detach and begin orbiting independently. Axiom successfully flew the world’s first all-private mission to the ISS in 2022 and has since conducted two additional private missions, with a fourth mission planned. The company is backed by notable investors such as Helios Capital, IBX, C5 Capital, and Hemisphere Ventures.