नवीनतम
SpaceX Falcon 9 launches four private Ax-3 astronauts to orbit
NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: Axiom Space's Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3), the third private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, launched at 4:49 p.m. EST on Thursday, January 18, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The Ax-3 crew is travelling to the orbiting outpost aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft following a launch on the company's Falcon 9 rocket. Following stage separation, the rocket's first stage landed on Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The Dragon spacecraft will dock autonomously to the forward port of the station’s Harmony module as early as 4:19 a.m. Saturday, January 20.
The crew, which includes Commander Michael López-Alegría, Pilot Walter Villadei, and Mission Specialists Marcus Wandt and Alper Gezeravci, will conduct microgravity research, educational outreach, and commercial activities aboard the space station. During their two-week stay aboard the orbiting laboratory, the crew will conduct more than 30 scientific experiments and demonstrations focused on human physiology and technological industrial advancements.
The Ax-3 private astronauts are expected to depart the space station on Saturday, February 3, pending weather, for a return to Earth and splashdown at a landing site off the coast of Florida.
"Congratulations to Axiom and SpaceX on a successful launch! Together with our commercial partners, NASA is supporting a growing commercial space economy and the future of space technology. During their time aboard the International Space Station, the Ax-3 astronauts will carry out more than 30 scientific experiments that will help advance research in low-Earth orbit. As the first all-European commercial astronaut mission to the space station, the Ax-3 crew is proof that the possibility of space unites us all," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
