Axiom-3: Key facts about Wednesday’s private astronaut launch from KSC to the ISS
A highly experienced former NASA astronaut will command the first all-European private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, which is scheduled for liftoff during Wednesday rush hour.
The four Axiom-3 astronauts will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 5:11 p.m. EST Wednesday from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, marking Cape Canaveral’s first crewed mission of the year.
Scrub! Axiom-3 astronaut launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center postponed to Thursday
Scrubbed! Crews postponed Wednesday’s Axiom-3 launch to send four European private astronauts to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Ax-3 had been scheduled for liftoff at 5:11 p.m. EST as the Space Coast’s first crewed mission of 2024. The launch window is instantaneous.
Ax-3 mission lifts 4 European private astronauts for International Space Station rendezvous
In a historic milestone, Ax-3, the first all-European private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, launched Thursday afternoon under thinly clouded skies, sending Turkey’s first astronaut into low-Earth orbit.
“It’s the new era of the golden age of space adventurism,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said during a pre-launch Axiom Space interview overlooking the agency’s press site.
Astrobotic’s damaged Peregrine moon lander burns up in atmosphere over South Pacific Ocean
Astrobotic officials said they lost telemetry with Peregrine about 3:50 p.m. Thursday, indicating the doomed spacecraft likely made its re-entry 14 minutes later over open water in the South Pacific Ocean.
Astrobotic officials previously explained how they prepared for atmospheric re-entry: “The first step required a main engine burn. Due to the propulsion anomaly, it was impossible to operate the main engines normally.
Rocket launches in Florida: Here’s an updating list of all 2024 Space Coast missions
This year, officials expect Florida’s Space Coast — home of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station — to break the freshly established 2023 annual record of 72 orbital rocket launches, with SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 accounting for most of the missions.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: 321 Launch: Space news you may have missed over the past week (Jan. 23)
Signup bonus from
