Update: The departure has been postponed until Wednesday due to weather conditions. The information below has been updated to reflect this.
On Wednesday, the Axiom-3 crew will depart from the International Space Station (ISS), marking the end of the first all-European private mission to the station. Launched on January 18, the four-person crew has been on the station since Saturday, January 20, and will return to Earth in their SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.
NASA and Axiom Space, the company that runs the mission, will be live-streaming the departure of the spacecraft from the ISS on Wednesday, and we have the details on how to watch below.
What to expect from the departure
The four crew members of Axiom-3, Commander Michael López-Alegría, Pilot Walter Villadei, and Mission Specialists Alper Gezeravcı and Marcus Wandt, were originally scheduled to depart the space station on Saturday, February 3. However, due to weather conditions in the splashdown zone, that departure has now been delayed until Wednesday, February 7.
That means the astronauts have an extra two days on the station, bringing their total time in orbit up to 17 days. During that time, crew members gave webcasts, took part in outreach events, and performed research in the station.
The crew will return home to Earth in a Dragon spacecraft, scheduled to splash down off the coast of Florida.
How to watch the departure
The departure of the SpaceX Dragon craft will be livestreamed by Axiom Space and NASA. The coverage will include the closure of the hatch between the Dragon and the space station and the undocking of the spacecraft, with coverage of the splashdown available later as well.
The the undocking on Wednesday is scheduled for 9:05 a.m. ET, with coverage beginning at 8:45 a.m. ET. You can watch the coverage via NASA TV, which is available through the video embedded at the top of this page, or via the NASA+ app for smartphones and other devices.
The farewell ceremony for the astronauts has already gone ahead, and you can watch it via Axiom Space’s YouTube channel.
