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Mark Carreau February 05, 2024

The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying four astronauts is seen docked to the ISS.

Credit: NASA TV

The departure of the Axiom Space four-person private astronaut mission from the International Space Station (ISS) has been delayed to no earlier than Feb. 6 due to unfavorable weather for splashdown off the Florida peninsula.

An initial delay to Feb. 5 was announced by NASA and Axiom on Feb. 3, fewer than 6 hr. prior to the previously planned undocking of the SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom at 6:05 a.m. EST. The following day, NASA announced an additional delay to no earlier than Feb. 6.

The decision came as a low-pressure system was moving east across the Gulf of Mexico from the Texas/Louisiana region toward Florida, bringing heavy rain, wind gusts and periodic severe weather.

The third Axiom Space 3 (Ax-3) private astronaut mission launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Jan. 18 with an all-European crew headed by Michael Lopez-Alegria—Axiom's chief astronaut, a former NASA astronaut and dual Spanish-America citizen. Also onboard are Italy's Walter Villidei, the pilot; Sweden's Marcus Wandt, a European Space Agency project astronaut; and Turkey's Alper Gezeravci.

Their Crew Dragon capsule docked to the ISS's Unity module early Jan. 20 to begin an aggressive and successively executed science and technology agenda for a 14-day stay.

The four astronauts are to be greeted by a SpaceX recovery vessel with support personnel from Axiom and SpaceX once they splash down in the Gulf of Mexico or Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida.

Mark Carreau

Mark is based in Houston, where he has written on aerospace for more than 25 years. While at the Houston Chronicle, he was recognized by the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement Foundation in 2006 for his professional contributions to the public understanding of America's space program through news reporting.