Axiom signs up with SpaceX to fly private astronauts to the International Space Station

They were a bit of a let down, really...

Yeah, an interesting concept, but the commercial opportunities fell flat.

I think the advertising was overblown.

Bigelow is still around. They merely didn't win access to the ISS port. My guess is Bigelow will be launching the B330 that was being reserved for ISS to a more useful inclination, hopefully before the year is out. Robert Bigelow has said he was launching with or without NASA for over a decade now. I'll take him at his word since I know Bigelow dropped the cash the reserve a 2020 Atlas V launch to take the first B330 to orbit.

FYI the reason the ISS port was so important to Bigelow is ISS already has regular supply missions and already supports crew. If the first B330 is flight tested attached to ISS ISS crew can open the hatch, run tests, and escape to ISS should something go wrong. If the solution is a simple component swap the component can come up on the next scheduled delivery. Not having access to this logistics means Bigelow has to spring for a launch every time they run into a minor unexpected problem. If crew needs to evacuate the only option is escape to Earth. Time wise this means we're looking at ~1 year to certification berthed to ISS versus ~3 yrs without the logistics support. Those extra launches are going to cost Bigelow some hundreds of million too,

Disclaimer: My personal preference is Axiom over Bigelow. I tried to set my personal bias aside but I'm only human. Sorry if I still came off as an Axiom fanboi gloating.

Re: What will they do?

"I can't imagine you'd want to pay millions" <insert> obligatory Douglas Adams reference

" ‘Not only am I rich enough to afford this..., I am also rich enough not to take it seriously.’ It was wonderfully hideous."

</insert>

Re: "the primary issues detected during the company's uncrewed Orbital Flight Test"

Well, issues such as the front isn't supposed to fall off...

Re: "the primary issues detected during the company's uncrewed Orbital Flight Test"

NASA declared the Starliner mission "a high visibility close call." Which is rare and one step down from "loss of mission." That will cause Boeing's processes and company culture to be investigated in the same way as SpaceX were after Elon smoked a spliff publicly. They still won't say if they will make Boeing repeat the uncrewed mission but that is just politics, they will.

If I were involved with the ISS from ESA, Roscosmos, JAXA or another stakeholder I'd refuse to let Starliner near the ISS until it completes a demo flight that demonstrates its software can perform manoevers correctly and at the right time.