SpaceX and Axiom Space have announced that the rocket bringing four people to the International Space Station (ISS) is expected to launch on January 18.
According to the launch provider, Wednesday's (January 17) launch attempt off of Cape Canaveral, Florida was scrubbed in order to allow launch teams to "complete pre-launch checkouts and data analysis on the vehicle," referring to the Falcon 9 rocket and the Crew Dragon capsule named "Freedom."
Space.com reported that Freedom has since carried two astronaut crews to and from the ISS - NASA's Crew-4 in 2022 and Axiom's Ax-2 in May 2023.
Overview of the Ax-3 Crew, Mission
Riding aboard the Freedom is a four-man crew provided by Axiom Space, a space company providing augmented manpower to the ISS to conduct experiments in orbit.
Axiom also intended to gradually build a space station of its own, first attaching itself to the ISS, and upon completion, undocking it to become an independent private station.
Thursday's launch would see retired NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría (commander), Italian astronaut Walter Villadei (pilot), Swedish astronaut Marcus Wandt (mission specialist), and Turkey's first astronaut, Alper Gezeravcı (mission specialist).
The crew would spend around two weeks aboard the ISS conducting more than 30 science experiments, Axiom said.
