SpaceX To Launch All-European Crew To International Space Station

Credit: Axiom Space

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Florida – Axiom Space’s Axiom Mission 3, the first all-European commercial astronaut mission to the International Space Station, is set lift off in a SpaceX Dragon capsule atop a Falcon 9 rocket at 4:49 p.m. EST on Thursday, January 18, 2024, from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

SpaceX tweeted that the launch time was pushed back from Wednesday, January 17, to allows teams to complete pre-launch checkouts and data analysis on the vehicle.

Launch Weather 95% ‘GO’

According to the latest forecast from the U.S. Space Force 45th Weather Squadron, there is a 95% chance of favorable weather for launch.

The primary weather concern is cumulus clouds.

Ground Landing

Following stage separation, the first stage of the SpaceX Falcon 9 will land on Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Ax-3 Crew And Mission

The Ax-3 crew members are Commander Michael López-Alegría, Pilot Walter Villadei of Italy, Mission Specialist Alper Gezeravcı of Turkey, and ESA (European Space Agency) project astronaut Marcus Wandt of Sweden.

The four astronauts will conduct more than 30 different experiments while aboard the International Space Station

Watch Falcon 9 launch Dragon and Ax-3 to the @space_station https://t.co/XDQBOfFq2N

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 18, 2024