With the first fully private space tourism mission to the International Space Station (ISS) drawing to a close this Saturday, the Axiom-1 crew will soon be heading back to Earth on a SpaceX craft.
The crew’s departure has been postponed several times due to poor weather conditions at the recovery site off the coast of Florida, but the weekend return is now looking increasingly likely.
The Axiom-1 crew consists of Commander Michael López-AlegrÃa, Pilot Larry Connor, and Mission Specialists Eytan Stibbe and Mark Pathy. Their departure from the ISS will be livestreamed, and we have the details on how to watch.
What to expect from the departure
The Axiom-1 crew arrived at the ISS on Saturday, April 9, and will head home after spending a total of 12 days in space. They will travel on the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour and are set to splash down off the coast of Florida. As well as carrying the four-person crew home, the Dragon spacecraft will also be loaded with the results of scientific experiments carried out on the ISS in addition to supplies.
How to watch the departure
The livestream will start at 4:15 p.m. ET (1:15 p.m. PT) on Saturday, April 23. The hatch closure will take place at around 4:30 p.m. ET (1:30 p.m. PT).
The undocking of the Dragon from the ISS is set for around 6:15 p.m. ET (3:15 p.m. PT), with coverage running for a further 30 minutes after undocking.
A livestream of the departure will be available on NASA’s website, or you can watch using the video embedded near the top of this page.
Splashdown off the coast of Florida is targeted for no earlier than 12:45 p.m. ET (9:45 a.m. PT) on Sunday, April 25. This will also be livestreamed.
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