Mission Control has informed the Expedition 67 and Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1) crews aboard the International Space Station that because of unfavorable weather at the splashdown location for recovery of the Dragon Endeavour and the Ax-1 crew, the integrated operations team at NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX has postponed the spacecraft’s planned departure from the orbiting laboratory.
Weather permitting, the four-member private astronaut crew now is targeted to undock at about 10 p.m. Tuesday, April 19, to begin the journey home with splashdown off the coast of Florida no earlier than approximately 3:24 p.m. EDT Wednesday, April 20.
NASA coverage of the farewell ceremony will remain as previously scheduled, and the updated NASA Ax-1 return coverage is as follows (all times Eastern):
Tuesday, April 19
- 7 a.m. – Coverage begins for farewell ceremony
- 7:45 p.m. – Coverage begins for hatch closure at approximately 8 p.m.
- 9:45 p.m. – Coverage begins for undocking at about 10 p.m.
Teams will continue to monitor the weather at the splashdown sites prior to undocking to ensure conditions are acceptable for a safe recovery of the Dragon spacecraft and Ax-1 astronauts. If needed for any reason, there are additional opportunities for the crew’s departure from the space station on Wednesday, April 20.
Never miss a breakthrough: Join the SciTechDaily newsletter.
Follow us on Google and Google News.