March 29, 2024

Private Astronaut Mission Undocking Waved Off – NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX Assessing

Axiom Mission 1 astronauts Michael Lopez Algeria, Larry Connor, Mark Pathy, and Eytan Stibbe docked to the zenith port of the International Space Stations Harmony module on April 9, 2022, following a launch on April 8 on the Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The 4 team members will perform an eight-day objective living and working aboard the microgravity laboratory prior to undocking to return to Earth on April 17.

The SpaceX Dragon Endeavour team ship is visualized docked to the Harmony modules space-facing international docking adapter. Endeavour carried 4 Axiom Mission 1 astronauts, Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria, Pilot Larry Connor, and Mission Specialists Eytan Stibbe and Mark Pathy, to the International Space Station for several days of research, education, and business activities. Credit: NASA
NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX waved off the undocking opportunity of Axiom Mission 1 from the International Space Station on Tuesday, April 19, 2022, due to undesirable weather condition conditions for return. The integrated NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX groups are continuing to evaluate the next finest chance for return of the first personal astronaut objective to the orbiting laboratory based upon weather conditions and space station operations.
Most recently, the four-member personal astronaut team had been targeted to undock at about 10 p.m. Tuesday, April 19, to begin the journey back to Earth, with splashdown off the coast of Florida no earlier than approximately 3:24 p.m. EDT Wednesday, April 20. On Tuesday morning, NASA Commander Tom Marshburn and his six Expedition 67 flight engineers held a goodbye ceremony for the four-member Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1) crew.
In this illustration, a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft approaches the ISS for docking. Credit: NASA/SpaceX
Axiom Mission 1 (or Ax-1) is a privately moneyed and operated crewed mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The objective is run by Axiom Space out of Axioms Mission Control Center MCC-A in Houston, Texas. The flight introduced on April 8, 2022, from NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Endeavour carried 4 Axiom Mission 1 astronauts, Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria, Pilot Larry Connor, and Mission Specialists Eytan Stibbe and Mark Pathy, to the International Space Station for a number of days of research study, education, and commercial activities. Axiom Mission 1 (or Ax-1) is an independently moneyed and operated crewed mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The objective is operated by Axiom Space out of Axioms Mission Control Center MCC-A in Houston, Texas.