SpaceX Dragon carrying Axiom-3 astronauts returns to Earth with splashdown near Daytona Beach| Watch – Hindustan Times

A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule returned to Earth on Friday, wrapping up the private Axiom-3 astronaut mission that was launched nearly three weeks ago from the Kennedy Space Center.

On Wednesday, February 7, at 9:20 a.m. EST (1420 GMT), Crew Dragon spacecraft Freedom undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) over the Pacific Ocean, bringing an end to Ax-3's tenure in orbit. It then flew freely in orbit for two days before breaking through the atmosphere on Friday and making its way back to Earth over the Atlantic Ocean.

It made a successful splashdown touchdown off the coast of Daytona Beach around 8.30 am on February 9, an official statement said.

Freedom was originally scheduled to undock from the ISS on Saturday, February 3, but inclement weather in the splashdown zone caused it to be postponed by four days.

Chartered by Houston-based company Axiom Space, A-3 mission was launched on January 18 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, and it reached the International Space Station (ISS) early on January 20.

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The crew members include pilot Walter Villadei, a colonel in the Italian Air Force; mission specialist Alper Gezeravc, the first Turkish citizen to reach space, and mission specialist Marcus Wandt, an European Space Agency (ESA) reserve astronaut. Commander Michael Lpez-Alegra is the chief astronaut of Axiom Space and a former NASA spaceflyer.

"We've had an amazing, hectic, and enjoyable two weeks up here," Lopez-Alegra remarked at a farewell ceremony prior to the crew's undocking, Space.com reported.

I am very proud of my Ax-3 crewmates, who helped their agencies achieve all of their science objectives, technology demonstrations, as well as the outreach events.

During their stay on the ISS, the astronauts conducted over thirty scientific experiments, encompassing research in the fields of physics and space medicine.

"Data collected on ground before and after the mission as well as in flight will impact understanding of human physiology on Earth and on orbit, as well as advance scientific understanding, harness opportunities for industrial advancements, and develop technologies for humanity's progress," Axiom Space said in a mission description.

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Astronaut Andreas Mogensen of the ESA, who is now leading the ISS' Expedition 70 mission, stated, It's been a real pleasure and honor to have you onboard the International Space Station. You guys have been great crewmates.

Being the only person to have flown aboard Dragon to orbit twice, it was the sixth spaceflight for Lpez-Alegra. Earlier, he was the part of Ax-1 mission, which flew to the ISS in April 2022.

While Villadei did make it to suborbital space with Virgin Galactic in June 2023, the other three Ax-3 astronauts had never flown in orbit before.

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SpaceX Dragon carrying Axiom-3 astronauts returns to Earth with splashdown near Daytona Beach| Watch - Hindustan Times