Private Axiom space Mission 1 has been postponed
If you’ve scheduled your weekend around the all-private Axiom Mission 1, we have bad news: The undocking has been postponed to Sunday.
Because the weather has been shifty, with marginally high winds at the splashdown sites, NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX teams decided not to undock today, according to NASA.
As long as the weather starts acting right, the crew will close the hatch at 6:45 p.m. eastern on Sunday, April 24 instead. From there, they’ll begin their journey home in the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour. They should land in a splash off the coast of Florida around 1 p.m. Monday, April 25, NASA reports.
The Axiom Mission, or Ax-1, is an all-private astronaut mission headed to the International Space Station that could be a big move for Axiom Station, which intends to be the first commercial space station.
That doesn’t mean it’s the first time non-public astronauts — or even private citizens — have gone to space. We’ve already seen Jeff Bezos launch into space (sadly, for some, not forever), as well as his brother Mark, and some rich teenager.
This trip, though, will include a four-person Axiom crew that will work on a 10-day mission, including eight days working and living on the orbiting laboratory, according to the mission’s website.
Among the crew is four-time astronaut Michael López-Alegría; investor and private pilot Larry Connor; investor and former fighter pilot in the Israeli Air Force Eytan Stibbe; and investor and private astronaut Mark Pathy.
The crew will conduct more than two dozen experiments while they’re in the space station.