Ax-3 CREW BEGINS RETURN TO EARTH, Feb 7, 2024, Earth orbit, undocking 9:20 am ET

Update, February 7, 7:30 am ET:  The Ax-3 crew is finally departing the ISS this morning. The undocking time now is 9:20 am ET instead of 9:05 am ET.

It will be almost 48 hours before they splash down, however.  That’s on Friday morning, February 9, at 8:30 am ET off the coast of Daytona, FL.

Update, February 6, 3:25 pm ET:  The NASA TV schedule shows undocking is currently scheduled for tomorrow, February 7, at 9:05 am ET, with NASA TV coverage of hatch closing starting at 7:00 am ET and of undocking at 8:45 am ET. As of this moment, neither SpaceX nor Axiom Space have said when the splashdown will take place or whether there will be live coverage.

Update, February 5, 11:00 pm ET:  Their return has been delayed again due to weather. A new date was not announced.

Due to ongoing unfavorable weather off the coast of Florida, Dragon is standing down from Tuesday’s undocking from the @Space_Station. The spacecraft and Ax-3 crew remain healthy, and teams will continue to monitor weather conditions for the next available undocking opportunity

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 6, 2024

Update, February 4, 4:40 pm ET:  For now, the undocking is scheduled for 9:05 am ET on Tuesday, February 6. They are continuing to monitor the weather.

#Ax3 UPDATE https://t.co/hv68f8Hvjx

— Axiom Space (@Axiom_Space) February 4, 2024

Update, February 4 am:  The undocking and return to Earth has been postponed again due to weather. They now are targeting Tuesday, February 6.

#Ax3 UPDATE https://t.co/5AmPIeYDbt

— Axiom Space (@Axiom_Space) February 4, 2024

Update, February 3:  The Axiom-3 undocking and return to Earth has been postponed to No Earlier Than February 5 because of unfavorable weather in the splashdown zone.

Due to unfavorable recovery conditions off the coast of Florida, we are now targeting no earlier than Monday, February 5 for Dragon and the Ax-3 crew to undock from the @space_station. Teams will continue to monitor weather ahead of the next undocking opportunity

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 3, 2024

Update, February 2, 2:20 pm ET:   NASA and Axiom will provide coverage of undocking as follows:

• 4:00 am ET, coverage begins of hatch closure, which is scheduled for 4:15 am ET
• 5:45 am ET, coverage resumes for 6:05 am ET undocking

Axiom says it will provide details about splashdown later on its website.

Original Entry: The four-person private astronaut crew of Axiom-3 (Ax-3) will undock from the International Space Station on February 3 at 6:05 am Eastern Standard Time (11:05 GMT, 12:05 CET) according to the European Space Agency. ESA project astronaut Marcus Wandt (Sweden) is one of the crew members. Further details are pending as of February 2 at 10:00 am EST.

????Now LIVE: #Ax3 farewell ceremony via @Axiom_Space. ????@astro_marcus and his crew mates connect to #Earth from space for the last time before their return home.

Undocking from the International @Space_Station is scheduled for tomorrow at 11:05 GMT / 12:05 CET.… pic.twitter.com/nMgh1aJfKF

— Human Spaceflight (@esaspaceflight) February 2, 2024