Axiom crew set for return to Earth on Sunday, Crew-4 to launch days later

The first private astronaut crew aboard the International Space Station is set to return to Earth on Sunday after weather delays and NASA's Crew-4 mission will look to launch on Tuesday.

"The decision [to delay landing] was made based on the best weather for splashdown of the first private astronaut mission to visit the International Space Station and the return trajectory required to bring the crew and the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft back to Earth safely," NASA said in a blog post Wednesday.

The Axiom crew -- Michael LÃ³pez-AlegrÃa, a retired NASA astronaut who works for Axiom; Larry Connor, a real estate and technology entrepreneur; Mark Pathy, a Canadian businessman; and Eytan Stibbe, an Israeli entrepreneur and former fighter jet pilot -- launched to the ISS on April 8, for a planned 10-day mission.

Their trip, however, has been unexpectedly prolonged due to poor weather at their landing site.

The new schedule calls for the crew to board the Dragon spacecraft and close the hatch around 6:30 p.m. EDT Saturday and undock from the ISS at 8:35 p.m. EDT. They would splash down at 1:46 p.m. EDT Sunday.

The capsule will land in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida; its exact location will depend on sea heights and weather. Once the crew has been safely extracted, teams from NASA and SpaceX can switch their focus to the next set of astronauts to launch.

NASA's Crew-4 -- Kjell Lindgren, Jessica Watkins and Bob Hines of NASA, along with Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti -- is expected to launch at 4:15 a.m. EDT Tuesday at the earliest.

Their mission was delayed due to Ax-1's postponement, as it is parked in their spot on the station. There are only two ports on the ISS where the Dragon can dock, both in use.

NASA's head of human spaceflight, Kathy Leuders, told UPI on Wednesday that the teams want a two-day window between the return of Ax-1 and the launch of Crew-4 so that the recovery vessels can be restaged and agency officials can review flight data from the Axiom mission.

Beyond Tuesday, the mission could also launch on Wednesday or April 28.

Related Links
Rocket Science News at Space-Travel.Com

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Axiom-1 return to Earth delayed due to weather
Washington DC (UPI) Apr 19, 2021
The Axiom-1 private astronauts aboard the International Space Station will stay in space a little longer because of poor weather in the area of the Atlantic Ocean where their capsule is to splash down. Weather officials, together with Axiom, NASA and SpaceX, are working to determine when they can safely bring the crew home. The crew has already spent 12 days in space. Once a new date has been announced, SpaceX's Dragon Endeavor will undock itself from ISS to journey back to Earth, ultima ... read more