Ax-3 Commercial Astronauts Splash Down after 18 Days Aboard ISS

The mission was the first commercial spaceflight of government and European Space Agency-sponsored national astronauts.

Friday, February 09, 2024 at 02:01 PM ET

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A SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying the Ax-3 crew splashes down off the coast of Daytona Beach, Florida, on Friday. [Courtesy: Axiom Space]

Key Takeaways:

Axiom Space's Ax-3 mission successfully returned its four private astronauts to Earth, splashing down off Florida after an 18-day stay on the International Space Station (ISS).
This was Axiom Space's third crewed mission to the ISS and the first commercial spaceflight involving government and European Space Agency-sponsored national astronauts.
During their time aboard the ISS, the Ax-3 crew conducted over 30 experiments and participated in more than 50 educational outreach engagements.
The mission is a pivotal step in commercial space exploration and towards Axiom Space's goal of building its own commercial space station, Axiom Station.

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Axiom Space’s crew of four private astronauts returned to Earth on Friday, safely splashing down off the coast of Florida after an 18-day mission on the International Space Station (ISS).

The Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) crew initially launched aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft via a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 18. On Wednesday, the spacecraft undocked from the ISS and then splashed down off the coast of Daytona Beach, Florida, around 8:30 a.m. EST Friday.