SpaceX targets no earlier than Thursday, January 18, for Falcon 9’s launch of Axiom Space’s Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) to the International Space Station from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The instantaneous launch window is at 4:49 p.m. ET, 21:49 UTC, and 22:49 CET.
The Dragon spacecraft supporting this mission previously flew Crew-4 and Ax-2 to and from the space station. Falcon 9’s first stage will land on Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station following stage separation.
During their time on the orbiting laboratory, the crew will conduct more than 30 scientific experiments and demonstrations focused on human physiology and technological industrial advancements.
Axiom Mission 3 (or Ax-3) is a planned private spaceflight to the International Space Station. The flight, scheduled to launch on January 17, 2024, and expected to last about 14 days, will be operated by Axiom Space and use a Crew Dragon spacecraft.
All four members of the crew have backgrounds as military pilots. Michael López-Alegría will be the commander as an employee of Axiom; Walter Villadei from the Italian Air Force will be the mission pilot. The mission specialists are Alper Gezeravcı, who will be the first astronaut from Turkey, and Swedish Marcus Wandt, who is the first member of the 2022 European Space Agency Astronaut Group to receive a spaceflight mission. It is also "the first commercial spaceflight mission for an ESA-sponsored astronaut". Wandt's mission component is called "Muninn" as it will overlap with fellow Danish ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen's mission – "Huginn".
As always, crewed missions can be shifted in dates and times depending on launch conditions and space station readiness.
