Editor’s note, February 3, 2024: NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX currently aim to complete undocking of Axiom Mission 3 from the International Space Station by Monday, February 5th. Due to weather conditions off the coast of Florida, the team is canceling the opportunity to undock the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and the Axiom crew on Saturday, February 3. The next weather survey is scheduled for Saturday, February 3rd at 8:00 PM EST. NASA provides additional information regarding coverage.
NASA will provide live coverage of the Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) commercial astronauts’ undocking from the International Space Station and the crew’s departure before returning to Earth.
The four-astronaut crew will undock from the space-facing port of the station’s Harmony module aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft by 6:05 a.m. ET on Saturday, February 3, and return home. The ship will begin its journey to the shore and land off the coast. of Florida.
NASA plans to provide live coverage of space station joint operations with Axiom Space and SpaceX.Coverage of hatch closure preparations begins at 4 a.m. Coverage of NASA undocking resumes at 5:45 a.m.
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The four civilian astronauts, Michael López-Alegría, Walter Villaday, Marcus Vandt, and Alper Gezeravsi, will have been in space for about two weeks after the mission ends. The Axiom crew highlighted their time on the space station, along with Expedition 70. Farewell greeting on Friday prior to undocking.
Their SpaceX Dragon will return to Earth with more than 550 pounds of cargo, including NASA hardware and data from more than 30 different experiments conducted by the crew during the mission.Splashdown is expected around 7 p.m.
Ax-3, the third all-civilian astronaut mission to the International Space Station, successfully launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 18th.
NASA’s Ax-3 undocking and departure ranges are as follows (always in the eastern region and subject to change based on operations):
Saturday, February 3rd
4:00 a.m. – NASA coverage begins at 4:15 a.m. hatch closed
5:45am – NASA coverage continues until 6:05am undock
NASA’s coverage ends approximately 30 minutes after undocking, when space station joint operations with Axiom Space and SpaceX mission teams end.Axiom Space will resume coverage of Dragon’s reentry and the company’s landing site. Website.
The Ax-3 mission is part of NASA’s efforts to foster a commercial market in low Earth orbit and continue a new era of space exploration that enables more people and organizations to accomplish multiple mission goals. This partnership will expand the reach of human spaceflight and open access to low Earth orbit and the International Space Station to more people, science, and commercial opportunities.
Learn more about how NASA is supporting the space economy in low Earth orbit.
https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/commercial-space/
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julian cortre
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
julian.n.coltre@nasa.gov
Rebecca Tarkington
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
rebecca.turkington@nasa.gov