Due to the weather conditions not suitable for returning to Earth, the four space tourists of the all-private manned space mission Ax-1 on the International Space Station postponed their return voyage, and their space travel will also be extended from the original 10 days to 16 days.
On April 20, local time, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that four space tourists from the all-private manned space mission Ax-1 plan to leave the International Space Station at 20:35 ET on April 23 and splash off the coast of Florida at about 13:46 on April 24. Before leaving the space station, teams will continue to monitor the weather at the splash site to ensure conditions allow for the safe return of Ax-1 mission space visitors and dragon spacecraft.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 11:17 ET on April 8 to launch Ax-1, the first all-private manned space mission to the International Space Station, for Axiom Space, a start-up commercial space enterprise in the United States. Four space tourists, former NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria, American entrepreneur Larry Connor, Canadian investor Mark Passy, and Israeli businessman Eitan Stibby, boarded the International Space Station on April 9.
The mission had previously planned to leave the International Space Station at 10:35 a.m. ET on April 19 and embark on a return journey, splashing off the Florida coast at 7:19 a.m. on April 20. However, due to the weather conditions that did not allow for the return, the return flight plan was postponed.
According to the latest return to Earth plan, this means that this "space tour group" has increased the number of days from the original 10-day space trip, and 4 people have spent a total of 16 days in space, including 14 days on the International Space Station.
Six spacecraft remain on the International Space Station, including two SpaceX crew dragons, Northrop Grumman's Cygnus cargo spacecraft, Russia's Soyuz MS-21 manned spacecraft, and Russia's Progress 79 and Progress 80 cargo supply spacecraft.
There are currently 11 people on the International Space Station, in addition to four space tourists, four professional astronauts from nasa's Crew-3 mission that arrived at the International Space Station last November on the SpaceX Manned Dragon spacecraft, and three Russian professional astronauts who traveled to the International Space Station on the Russian Soyuz MS-21 spacecraft in March this year.
NASA said there was an abundant supply of 11 astronauts on the International Space Station. The Ax-1 crew continued their previously planned mission activities, with the 4 space tourists and the Dragon spacecraft all staying healthy.
11 people aboard the International Space Station.
After the Ax-1 returned to Earth, NASA's Crew-4 mission launched at 4:15 a.m. on April 26, sending four professional astronauts to the International Space Station. The team hopes to allow two days after the Ax-1 returns to evaluate the splashdown data and prepare for the crew-4's launch. At present, four professional astronauts of the Crew-4 mission have arrived at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and the Falcon 9 rocket and the Dragon spacecraft have stood on the 39A launch pad.