Sławosz Uznański began his training at the European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne on 1 September 2023. Over the past months, he has been diligently preparing for his future space mission . He is scheduled to fly to the International Space Station on Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) and is assigned as mission specialist under the command of Axiom Space’s Chief Astronaut Peggy Whitson.
In April 2024, Sławosz joined his colleagues from the 2022 Astronaut Class in Bordeaux for a series of parabolic flights. These flights are an important part of astronaut training, allowing them to experience what microgravity feels like.
During a parabolic flight, a specially modified aircraft flies in a series of parabolic arcs. The plane climbs steeply, then dives down sharply, creating short periods of weightlessness inside the cabin. Each period of weightlessness lasts about 20 to 30 seconds and happens several times throughout the flight.
This training helps astronauts get used to the sensation of floating and performing tasks without gravity. By experiencing these conditions firsthand, they can better prepare for the challenges they’ll face when they are in space. For Sławosz and his fellow astronauts, it was a chance to practice moving and working in a microgravity environment before their actual missions.