NASA Sets Coverage for Axiom Mission 3 Departure from Space Station
NASA will provide live coverage of the undocking and departure of the Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) private astronaut flight from the International Space Station before the crew returns to Earth.
Live Coverage of Departure
NASA will provide live coverage of the undocking and departure of the Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) private astronaut flight from the International Space Station. The four-member astronaut crew is scheduled to undock no earlier than 6:05 a.m. EST Saturday, Feb. 3, from the space-facing port of the station’s Harmony module in a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to begin the journey home and splashdown off the coast of Florida.
Coverage of hatch-closure preparations will begin at 4 a.m. EST, followed by NASA's coverage of undocking at 5:45 a.m. EST. The coverage will be available on various platforms including NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency's website. Viewers can learn how to stream NASA TV through different platforms, including social media.
The four private astronauts, Michael López-Alegría, Walter Villadei, Marcus Wandt, and Alper Gezeravci, will have spent about two weeks in space at the conclusion of their mission. The Axiom crew, together with Expedition 70, bid farewell during their undocking preparations on Friday. Their SpaceX Dragon will carry more than 550 pounds of cargo, including NASA hardware and data from over 30 different experiments conducted during their mission. Splashdown is expected around 7 p.m. EST.
Coverage Schedule
NASA's coverage plan for Ax-3 is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change):
- 4 a.m.: NASA coverage begins for hatch closure at 4:15 a.m.
- 5:45 a.m.: NASA coverage continues for undocking at 6:05 a.m.
NASA's coverage will end approximately 30 minutes after undocking, and Axiom Space will resume coverage of Dragon's re-entry and splashdown on their website.
Expanding Human Spaceflight
The Ax-3 mission is part of NASA's efforts to promote a commercial market in low Earth orbit and advance space exploration by enabling more individuals and organizations to pursue multiple mission objectives. This partnership expands the reach of human spaceflight and increases access to low Earth orbit and the International Space Station for scientific research, commercial endeavors, and a range of other opportunities.
To learn more about how NASA is supporting the space economy in low Earth orbit, visit the following link: https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/commercial-space/
