It is expected that on February 6, 2024, EST, the "Axiom-3" Dragon manned spacecraft will be unlocked and separated from the forward port of the International Space Station, officially starting its journey back to Earth.
At 05:49 Beijing time on January 19, 2024, the "Axiom III" and "Dragon" manned spacecraft were launched by the "Falcon 9" carrier rocket from the LC-39A station at the Kennedy Space Center, and docked with the forward port of the "Harmony" node module at 18:42 Beijing time on the 20th, and the uplink process lasted 36 hours and 53 minutes.
The Axiom Mission 3 (AX-3) mission is the third commercial manned mission in the Axiom (AX) series to the International Space Station launched by Axiom Space, and is one of the concrete implementation projects of the U.S. low-Earth orbit space economic strategy. The Axiom series of missions is approved by NASA in coordination with the International Space Station partner countries, and is responsible for the integrated operation of the mission from the arrival to the departure of the space station, and the transportation of space-to-earth transportation is carried out by SpaceX using the Dragon manned spacecraft and the Falcon 9 launch vehicle.
From left: Walter Vilardi, Marcus Vante, Michael Lopez Allegria, Alper Gezeravci.
The Axiom-3 crew included four astronauts from four countries, including Michael Lopez-Alegria from the United States (with dual Spanish and American citizenship), Walter Villadei from Italy, Alper Gezer**ci from Turkey, and Marcus Wante from Sweden wandt）。 The mission was commanded by Allegria, piloted by Viradi, and mission specialists by Gezeravci and Vante. During its time in orbit, the Axiom-3 crew carried out microgravity research, educational outreach and commercial activities, including more than 30 scientific experiments.
According to the original plan, the "Freedom" Dragon manned spacecraft carrying the "Axiom III" crew will be unlocked and separated from the space station at 19:05 Beijing time on February 3.
In red jackets is the "70th Expedition", and in blue jackets are the AX-3 crew.
Prior to the evacuation, with the help of the 70th Expeditionary Team, which is stationed on the space station, the Axiom-3 crew transferred scientific experiment samples, scientific research hardware and other materials to the spacecraft, with a total mass of more than 250 kilograms (more than 550 pounds). At 22:50 on February 2, Beijing time, the seven astronauts of the "70th Expeditionary Team" held a farewell ceremony for the four astronauts of the "Gongxi-3" crew, and the evacuation of the "Gongxi-3" crew was ready.
February** Dynamic Incentive Program The Axiom-3 mission is the world's first manned space mission in 2024 and the world's first commercial manned space mission this year. The mission provides commercial passengers from 4 countries with the opportunity to carry out space flights, which is a space tourism for the mission crew, but its essence is a short-term space business trip, and the in-orbit work involves the first project space science experiments, commercial projects, commercial activities, and public welfare projects, education and promotion. Compared with the manned missions regularly implemented by the International Space Station partner countries, the "Axiom" series of missions is more universal and allows more countries to carry out manned missions at a limited cost, which is exactly what small and medium-sized countries need in the era of large spaceflight.
Author: Mulan Xingzhou.