Published 7 February 2024 at 11.44
Domestic. After seventeen days aboard the International Space Station, it is now time for Swedish astronaut Marcus Wandt to come home. At 15:05 this afternoon, the capsule will leave the space station.
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Axiom Space, SpaceX and Nasa have announced that the journey home for Marcus Wandt and the rest of the crew for Ax-3 can now be started. The weather looks better at the landing site in the sea off Florida and the holding points are now these (times are in Swedish time):
* Wednesday, February 7 at 1:15 p.m. The crew gets into the capsule and closes the hatch to the space station
* Wednesday, February 7 at 15:05. The capsule with crew disconnects from the space station and begins its journey down to Earth.
* Friday, February 9 at approx. 2:30 p.m. The capsule lands in the ocean off the coast of Florida.
However, there is always a risk that the times will change.
After the capsule with the astronauts has docked from the space station, a series of processes to slow up and descend begins the capsule before it finally enters the Earth's atmosphere. Once in the atmosphere, the capsule is allowed to fall to a suitable height for the first parachutes to deploy, soon after, the next parachutes deploy to slow down further before the capsule with the astronauts dims into the sea where rescue boats await them.
It will be broadcast live from all stops during Ax-3's journey home. The latest information on times and how to follow the event can be found at Axiom Space.