The Expedition 73 crew members lightened their schedule on Wednesday following several days of Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) preparations including readying International Space Station systems, tablet computers, and temporary crew quarters. The orbital residents relaxed throughout the day while setting aside some time to continue ongoing human research and orbital maintenance.
NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX are standing down from the launch opportunity on Wednesday, June 11, of Axiom Mission 4 to the International Space Station to allow additional time for SpaceX teams to repair a liquid oxygen leak identified during post-static fire Falcon 9 rocket inspections. A new launch date for the fourth private astronaut mission will be provided once repair work is complete, pending range availability.
Expedition 73 continues preparing for the arrival of the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crew targeted to launch to the International Space Station on Wednesday. Meanwhile, space science operations continued for advancing human health, promoting future missions, and observing Earth landmarks.
The Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crew is at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center counting down to a launch aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft targeted for 8 a.m. EDT on Wednesday to the International Space Station.
NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX are standing down from the launch opportunity on Tuesday, June 10, of Axiom Mission 4 to the International Space Station due to forecasted weather conditions in the ascent corridor along the flight path of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.
Space physics topped the International Space Station research schedule on Friday followed by ongoing biology studies. Earth observation duties and a variety of lab maintenance were also on the schedule for the Expedition 73 crew at the end of the week.
The Expedition 73 crew serviced a variety of science software and hardware on Thursday keeping up its advanced space research experiments and technology demonstrations. Eye checks, Earth observations, and life support maintenance rounded out International Space Station’s schedule.
Blood and oxygen investigations to improve health in space dominated the research schedule aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday. The Expedition 73 crewmates also trained for the arrival next week of the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crew inside the Space Dragon spacecraft.
The Expedition 73 crew is preparing to welcome the arrival of Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) and its four astronauts to the International Space Station next week. Station Commander Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and NASA Flight Engineers Jonny Kim, Anne McClain, and Nichole Ayers joined each other on Tuesday and reviewed the upcoming private astronaut mission. The station quartet called down to mission managers and discussed Ax-4 operations and station readiness.
NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than 8:22 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, June 10, for launch of the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, Axiom Mission 4. This shift allows teams to account for predicted inclement weather during the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft transport in addition to completing final processing of the spacecraft ahead of launch.
