“Ax-3 Mission Update: Axiom Crew’s Extended Stay in Space Due to Weather Conditions”
In a twist of orbital fate, the SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft, home to the Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) crew, is set to undock from the International Space Station no earlier than Monday, February 5. NASA announced the rescheduled undocking, citing weather conditions off the coast of Florida as the primary reason.
Ax-3, the third-ever all-private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, embarked on its journey from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on January 18. The four private astronauts—Michael López-Alegría, Walter Villadei, Marcus Wandt, and Alper Gezeravci—initially planned to return on February 3 after a two-week stint aboard the space station.
This unexpected extension offers the crew more time to conduct experiments, with over 550 pounds of cargo set to accompany them back to Earth. The returning payload includes crucial NASA hardware and valuable data from more than 30 experiments conducted during their mission.
Stay tuned for NASA’s live coverage of the undocking and departure of Ax-3 on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website, as we witness this unique chapter in private space exploration.
