The Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) astronauts have successfully docked at the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the third entirely private crew mission.
Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) astronauts Michael López-Alegría, Walter Villadei, Marcus Wandt, and Alper Gezeravci are now aboard the International Space Station following Dragon’s hatch opening at 7:13 a.m. EST on Saturday, January 20.
Ax-3 docked to the orbital complex at 5:42 a.m. while the spacecraft was flying 262 miles above the Pacific Ocean, west of South America. It is the third mission with an entirely private crew to arrive at the orbiting laboratory.
The Axiom Space crew are joining Expedition 70 crew members aboard station, including NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Furukawa Satoshi, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Konstantin Borisov, Oleg Kononenko, and Nikolai Chub.
Next up, the station crew members will participate in a welcome ceremony aboard the International Space Station.
Axiom Space astronauts are expected to depart the space station on February 3, pending weather, for a return to Earth and splashdown at a landing site off the coast of Florida.
Never miss a breakthrough: Join the SciTechDaily newsletter.
Follow us on Google and Google News.