Axiom-1 to return to earth
The separation has been confirmed, and the Dragon spacecraft is returning to Earth five days later than planned, according to NASA.
The world's first all-private crew to the International Space Station (ISS) is returning to Earth onboard the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft.
"Separation confirmed. Dragon will now perform four burns to move away from the @space_station; will reenter the Earth's atmosphere in ~16 hours with a targeted splashdown at approximately 1:06 p.m. ET [17:06 GMT] on April 25," SpaceX posted on Twitter.
Undocking confirmed. SpaceX’s Dragon Endeavour spacecraft has departed the International Space Station after a 15-day stay, bringing home Axiom’s four private astronauts.
— Spaceflight Now (@SpaceflightNow) April 25, 2022
Splashdown off the Florida coast is planned at 1:06pm EDT (1706 GMT) tomorrow.https://t.co/1TY3RLjs88 pic.twitter.com/JQqG5mVIS8
The separation has been confirmed, and the Dragon spacecraft is returning to Earth five days later than planned, as seen during NASA’s live coverage of the undocking, re-entry, and splashdown of Axiom’s Ax-1 mission at the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.
Initially, SpaceX expected the splashdown to take place on April 19, but unfavorable weather off the coast of Florida forced several postponements of the Ax-1 crew's return.
On April 8, NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, launched the first all-commercial crewed Axiom-1 mission to the International Space Station. The mission was supposed to last about ten days at first.