The space station can accommodate a multitude of TV shows and movies

“We are finally able to open our doors to civilians and allow others to experience the magic of living and working in space,” said Dana Weigel, deputy director of the space station at NASA. “The dream is really to give everyone access to space, and that’s a very exciting starting point here.”

The producers of the Discovery Who Wants to Be an Astronaut film expect the winner to be aboard Axiom’s second flight to the space station, which can take off six or seven months after the first flight. At this point, a deal between Team Discovery and Axiom has yet to be finalized, and NASA has yet to select Axiom to perform its second special space tourism flight.

Space Agency officials have said that the part of the station run by NASA could host two special astronaut missions per year, and that other companies are also interested in joining.

“We are seeing great interest in special astronaut missions even outside Axiom,” Ms. Weigel said. “At the moment, the question is beyond what we really think the odds will be at the terminal.”

On Tuesday, however, Axiom announced that there were two people in the seats for this second mission: Peggy WhitsonA former NASA astronaut who now works for Axiom will become the captain, and John Schufner, a passenger paying his fortune as president of a fiber-optic cable tray company, will act as the pilot for the mission.

Dr. Whitson, who holds the record for the longest cumulative time in space by a NASA astronaut – 665 days – joined Axiom a year ago as a consultant in the hope of returning to space and to add something to his record. She said, “Yes, absolutely.” “It was the carrot.”

Mr Peterson said plans for the Discovery show stemmed from discussions with Axiom in early 2020 and that it would be a “great documentary” and less like “Survivor” or some other reality TV contest.