Scivillage.com Casual Discussion Science Forum

Axiom-1 and all four of its astronauts are safely back on Earth.

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1518637647790362624

Axiom - 2 is T - 36 minutes

Four astros emerged from a new SpaceX suitup building different from the old 1960's building where the Apollo and Shuttle and Commercial Crew astronauts all emerged from through the famous door. They drove to the pad in black SpaceX crew services Teslas. The pad ninjas tucked them in and sealed the Crew Dragon.

Propellant Loading currently underway.

---

Perfect launch, staging and orbit insertion.

The Falcon 9 booster returned and successfully landed at LZ-1 at Cape Canaveral.

SpaceX is really getting this down to a science.

Axiom-2 is back on Earth, all four astros are safe and sound

Recovery teams are headed to the capsule in the Gulf of Mexico off Panama City FL

(SpaceX photo)

---

Some Florida fishermen caught this video. Great video, and the audio commentary make it a Florida classic.

https://twitter.com/FishWithYakPak/statu...3791157248

Another great video, from Starkville MS, home of Mississippi State University. Really shows how fast this thing moves entering the atmosphere at ~17,000 mph

https://twitter.com/JacobWoodsWx/status/...4169179138

And it's time for Axiom-3, the third Axiom private crewed spaceflight to the International Space Station.

Launch: Wednesday January 17 at 2:11 PM PST/5:11 EST from Pad 39A at Cape Canaveral

The Ax-3 crew will be former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría who is now Axiom's chief company astronaut. Accompanying him will be pilot Col. Walter Villadei of the Italian Air Force, Turkish mission specialist Alper Gezeravci, and ESA astronaut Marcus Wandt of Sweden.

Vehicles will be B1080 on its 5th fight, and Crew Dragon C212 Freedom on its third flight. After the launch, B1080 will return to Cape Canaveral for a RTLS (Return to Launch Site) landing at Lz-1 at CCSFS.

https://nextspaceflight.com/launches/details/6790

Watch here

https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=ax-3

Or here

Ax-3 has been pushed back to Thursday Jan 18 at 1:49 PM PST/4:49 PM EST

"The additional time allows teams to complete pre-launch checkouts and data analysis on the vehicle." I'm guessing that they saw some reading they didn't like. Unknown how serious it might be.

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1747657133351690565

The Axiom astros are all tucked in to their capsule

Approx T - 1 hour

Perfect launch and the four astros are in orbit, matching orbits with the space station. The biggest issue prior to launch was the astros complaining that the capsule was cold and asking mission control if they could turn up the heat. Mission control said 'no'. After launch on the trip uphill, the astros seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves, pumping their fists and grinning.

After stage separation B1080 conducted a flawless boostback burn and landed successfully at Landing zone 1. But one of its landing legs seemed to have trouble fully extending, though the leg finally did manage to do so. (Even rockets get arthritis.)





B1080 departing from Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center with four aboard

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1748100552104501421

B1080 returning to Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

https://twitter.com/mwallace300zx/status...6330500383

Ax-3 has arrived at the Space Station

And Ax-3 with its four astros has safely reentered and splashed down off Florida