The SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft carrying four Axiom Mission 3 astronauts is pictured docked to the space station shortly after an orbital sunrise. Credit: NASA TV
NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX now are targeting no earlier than 9:05 a.m. EST Wednesday, Feb. 7, for the undocking of Axiom Mission 3 from the International Space Station following the latest review of weather conditions off the coast of Florida. The next weather briefing is at 2 a.m.
For this undocking opportunity, NASA will provide live coverage of space station joint operations with Axiom Space and SpaceX. Coverage of hatch-closure preparations will begin at 7 a.m. NASA coverage of undocking will resume at 8:45 a.m. (times subject to change based on operations).
Coverage will be available on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.
NASA’s coverage ends approximately 30 minutes after undocking when space station joint operations with Axiom Space and SpaceX mission teams conclude. Axiom Space will resume coverage of Dragon’s re-entry and splashdown on the company’s website.
The SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft carrying four Axiom MIssion 3 astronauts is pictured docked to the space station shortly after an orbital sunrise on Jan. 20 ,2024. Credit: NASA TV
NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX are standing down from the Tuesday, Feb. 6, undocking opportunity of Axiom Mission 3 from the International Space Station. Mission teams will continue to review weather conditions off the coast of Florida, which currently are not favorable for return, and set a new target opportunity for space station departure and splashdown of the Dragon spacecraft and Axiom crew members.
The next weather review is planned for 12 p.m., Feb. 6. NASA will provide additional information on the next undocking opportunity as available.
Four Expedition 70 astronauts pose for a fun portrait inside their crew quarters aboard the International Space Station’s Harmony module.
Four private astronauts comprising the Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) crew continue to target Tuesday for their departure from the International Space Station and return to Earth. In the meantime, the seven Expedition 70 crew members are continuing their schedule of advanced microgravity research and orbital lab maintenance.
Ax-3 Commander Michael López-Alegría readied the SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft for its undocking scheduled for no earlier than 9:05 a.m. EST on Tuesday. The veteran astronaut transferred emergency gear from Dragon into the station then stowed completed science experiments and their samples inside science freezers aboard the commercial spacecraft. NASA Flight Engineer Jasmin Moghbeli assisted with the emergency hardware transfers stowing masks, gloves, sensors, and medical kits, back inside the station. Station Commander Andreas Mogensen from ESA (European Space Agency) also helped the Ax-3 crew as they cleaned up inside the station and prepared for the return to Earth.
Mission managers continue to evaluate weather at the potential splashdown sites off the coast of Florida. The hatch closing and undocking will be broadcast live on the NASA+ streaming service, NASA TV, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms, including social media.
The rest of the Ax-3 crew, including Pilot Walter Villadei and Mission Specialists Alper Gezeravcı and Marcus Wandt, also packed Dragon with return cargo such as personal items, computer and electronics gear, and more science experiments. The private crew is spending the rest of the day exercising, videotaping crew activities, and looking at the Earth below from the cupola.
Science continued aboard the orbital outpost on Monday as the Expedition 70 crew explored an array of life science topics including how weightlessness affects immunity and botany. The orbital residents also worked inside a pair of cargo spaceships and maintained critical life support systems.
NASA Flight Engineers Loral O’Hara and Moghbeli took turns unpacking some of the several tons of cargo packed inside the Northrop Grumman Cygnus space freighter. The pair later helped the Ax-3 crew stow science experiments and computer gear inside Dragon. Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) also assisted with the Cygnus cargo work then set up hardware to explore how plant-microbe interactions are affected in microgravity. Mogensen spent his morning processing his blood and saliva samples for an investigation exploring how a crew member’s immunity system changes during a space mission.
Roscosmos Flight Engineers Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub partnered together and tested the communications system inside the Progress 85 resupply ship before it departs the station next week. Kononenko then worked on cargo and fluid transfers inside the Progress 85. Chub moved into the Poisk module for computer maintenance. Flight Engineer Konstantin Borisov worked on hardware supporting a pair of Earth observation studies, inventoried ventilation hardware, and serviced orbital plumbing components.
The 11 crew members representing the Expedition 70 and Axiom Space 3 crews gather for a farewell ceremony calling down to mission controllers on Earth on Feb. 2, 2024 . Credit: NASA TV
NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX continue to target no earlier than 9:05 a.m. EST Tuesday, Feb. 6, for the undocking of Axiom Mission 3 from the International Space Station following the latest review of weather conditions off the coast of Florida.
For the primary undocking opportunity Feb. 6, NASA will provide live coverage of space station joint operations with Axiom Space and SpaceX. Coverage of hatch closure preparations will begin at 7 a.m. NASA coverage of undocking will resume at 8:45 a.m. (times subject to change based on operations).
Coverage will be available on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.
NASA’s coverage ends approximately 30 minutes after undocking when space station joint operations with Axiom Space and SpaceX mission teams conclude. Axiom Space will resume coverage of Dragon’s re-entry and splashdown on the company’s website.
The four Axiom Mission 3 astronauts (front row) and the seven Expedition 70 crew members wave to the camera after greeting each other on Jan. 20, 2024. Credit: NASA TV
NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX now are targeting no earlier than Tuesday, Feb. 6, for the undocking of Axiom Mission 3 from the International Space Station. Teams are standing down from the Monday, Feb. 5, undocking opportunity of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Axiom crew members due to weather conditions off the coast of Florida. The next weather review is planned for 3 p.m. EST Sunday, Feb. 4. NASA will provide additional information on coverage.
The SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft carrying four Axiom MIssion 3 astronauts is pictured docked to the space station on Jan. 20, 2024. Credit: NASA TV
NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX now are targeting no earlier than Monday, Feb. 5, for the undocking of Axiom Mission 3 from the International Space Station. Teams are standing down from the Saturday, Feb. 3, undocking opportunity of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Axiom crew members due to weather conditions off the coast of Florida. The next weather review is planned for 8 p.m. EST Saturday, Feb. 3. NASA will provide additional information on coverage.
The 11 crew members representing the Expedition 70 (red shirts) and Axiom Space 3 (dark blue suits) crews gather for a farewell ceremony calling down to mission controllers on Earth. Credit: NASA TV
The Expedition 70 and Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) crews called down to Mission Control on Friday for a farewell ceremony as the four private astronauts target their departure for Saturday morning. The orbital residents aboard the International Space Station worked just half-a-day packing the SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft before going to bed early to get ready for the spacecraft’s undocking.
The Ax-3 private astronauts are in their final day aboard the orbital outpost following two weeks of science and educational activities. The foursome, led by Commander Michael López-Alegría, is currently targeted to undock inside Dragon from the Harmony module’s forward port at 6:05 a.m. EST on Saturday. López-Alegría, along with Pilot Walter Villadei and Mission Specialists Alper Gezeravcı and Marcus Wandt, will then parachute inside Dragon to the splashdown site where support personnel from Axiom Space and SpaceX await their arrival. Mission managers will receive a final weather report before giving the Ax-3 quartet the final go for a splashdown off the coast of Florida.
Space station Commander Andreas Mogensen from ESA (European Space Agency) helped the Ax-3 crewmates wrap up their mission activities helping reconfigure the orbital lab for standard crew operations. NASA Flight Engineers Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara joined in and retrieved station emergency gear from Dragon and stowed science hardware inside the returning spacecraft.
Earlier, O’Hara partnered with astronaut Satoshi Furukawa from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and transferred research samples from the newly arrived Cygnus cargo craft into science freezers aboard the station. Furukawa later swapped out research hardware that supports botany and biology experiments with a minimum of astronaut intervention inside the Columbus laboratory module.
Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub packed the Progress 85 resupply ship, docked to the Zvezda service module’s rear port, with trash and discarded items before it ends its cargo mission and undocks later this month. Flight Engineer Konstantin Borisov spent his shift configuring a variety of experiment hardware. Borisov serviced a camera that observes Earth’s atmosphere in ultraviolet wavelengths, charged hardware that documents crew interactions with mission controllers from around the world, then deactivated medical gear that continuously monitors a crew member’s blood pressure.
The Cygnus space freighter, with its two cymbal-shaped UltraFlex solar arrays, is pictured in the grips of the Canadarm2 robotic arm after its capture on Feb. 1, 2024.
As part of NASA’s commercial resupply services, Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo craft arrived at the International Space Station today packed with science and supplies for the Expedition 70 crew. The seven orbital outpost residents now turn their attention to the departure of four Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) visitors.
About three hours later, O’Hara and NASA Flight Engineer Jasmin Moghbeli equalized pressure between Cygnus and the space station then opened Cygnus’ hatch to begin six months of cargo operations. They were followed by Commander Andreas Mogensen of ESA (European Space Agency) and Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) who began unpacking new research samples and stowing them inside lab freezers for upcoming science investigations.
Mogensen also helped the four Ax-3 astronauts prepare for their departure from the station aboard the SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft for no earlier than Saturday morning. Mission managers from Axiom Space, SpaceX, and NASA are monitoring weather conditions at the splashdown site off the coast of Florida before making a final undocking decision.
Ax-3 astronauts Michael López-Alegría and Walter Villadei packed completed science experiments in lab freezers and prepared them for stowage aboard their Dragon spacecraft Thursday morning. The duo then joined fellow Ax-3 crewmates Alper Gezeravcı and Marcus Wandt for a conference with mission controllers discussing the cargo that will be returning with them aboard Dragon.
All four private astronauts will join the seven-member Expedition 70 crew at 9:50 a.m. Friday, Feb. 2, for a farewell ceremony aboard the space station. The event will be broadcast live on the NASA+ streaming service, NASA TV, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms, including social media.
The orbiting lab’s three cosmonauts worked throughout Thursday on their complement of science and cargo activities in the station’s Roscosmos segment. Flight Engineers Nikolai Chub and Konstantin Borisov carried out an Earth observation experiment to support educational and commercial opportunities on Earth. Afterward, Chub conducted a fluid physics study while Borisov began a 24-hour blood pressure monitoring session. Borisov later installed an ultraviolet camera to capture nighttime imagery of Earth’s atmosphere. Veteran cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko inventoried cargo in the Prichal docking module then stowed cargo inside the Progress 85 resupply ship docked to the rear of the Zvezda service module.
NASA will share more on Axiom Mission 3’s departure as available following the next weather review. The mission is the third private astronaut mission to the space station enabled by NASA.
The Cygnus space freighter is pictured attached to the space station as the Canadarm2 robotic arm prepares to grapple the cargo craft.
Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft installation on the International Space Station is now complete. Cygnus, carrying over 8,200 pounds of cargo and science experiments. At 4:59 a.m., NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara, with NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli acting as backup, captured Cygnus using the International Space Station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm.
The mission launched at 12:07 p.m. EST Jan. 30 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Cygnus will remain at the space station until May when it will depart the orbiting laboratory at which point it will harmlessly burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere.
The Canadarm2 robotic arm, guided by NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara, captures Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft. Credit: NASA TV
NASA Television’s live coverage of installation of Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft is underway.
At 4:59 a.m. EST, NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara, with NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli acting as backup, captured Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft using the International Space Station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm. Cygnus is carrying 8,200 pounds of supplies, hardware, and science experiments.
This is Northrop Grumman’s 20th commercial resupply mission to the space station for NASA. The spacecraft is named the S.S. Patricia “Patty” Hilliard Robertson in honor of the former NASA astronaut.
Cygnus will remain at the space station until May when it will depart the orbiting laboratory at which point it will harmlessly burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere.
