Axiom Mission 3

Axiom Mission 3
	Launch of Ax-3 on a Falcon 9 rocket
Names	Ax-3
Mission type	Private spaceflight to the ISS
Operator	Axiom Space; SpaceX;
COSPAR ID	2024-014A
SATCAT no.	58815
Website	www.axiomspace.com/missions/ax3
Mission duration	21 days, 15 hours, 41 minutes
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Crew Dragon Freedom
Spacecraft type	Crew Dragon
Manufacturer	SpaceX
Launch mass	12,519 kg (27,600 lb)
Landing mass	9,616 kg (21,200 lb)
Crew
Crew size	4
Members	Michael López-Alegría; Walter Villadei; Alper Gezeravcı; Marcus Wandt;
Start of mission
Launch date	18 January 2024, 21:49:11 UTC (5:49:11 pm EST)
Rocket	Falcon 9 Block 5 (B1080‑5), Flight 291
Launch site	Kennedy, LC‑39A
Contractor	SpaceX
End of mission
Recovered by	MV Shannon
Landing date	9 February 2024, 13:30 UTC (8:30 am EST)
Landing site	Atlantic Ocean, near Daytona Beach, Florida (29°48′N 80°42′W / 29.8°N 80.7°W)
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric orbit
Regime	Low Earth orbit
Inclination	51.66°
Docking with ISS
Docking port	Harmony forward
Docking date	20 January 2024, 10:42 UTC
Undocking date	7 February 2024, 14:20 UTC
Time docked	18 days, 3 hours, 38 minutes
	; Left: Axiom mission patch; Right: Wandt's Muninn mission patch; ; From left: López-Alegría, Wandt, Gezeravcı, and Villadei in black jumpsuits Axiom Space missions ← Axiom Mission 2 Axiom Mission 4 → Crew Dragon flights ← SpaceX Crew-7 SpaceX Crew-8 →

Axiom Mission 3 (or Ax-3) was a private spaceflight to the International Space Station. The flight launched on 18 January 2024,^[1] and lasted for 21 days, successfully splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean.^[3] It was operated by Axiom Space and used a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.^[4] The booster, B1080, had previously flown Axiom-2, among other high-profile missions.^[5]

Muninn

The Swedish component of Ax-3 would be the Muninn mission with Marcus Wandt as the first ESA astronaut launched by a private space provider.^[6] Wandt was also the first member of the 2022 European Space Agency Astronaut Group to receive a spaceflight mission.^[7] The mission's name comes from one of Odin's two ravens that together combined symbolize the human mind with Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen being launched as part of the Huninn mission on SpaceX Crew-7.^[8] This was the first time that two Scandinavians were in space at the same time.^[6] Wandt conducted 20 experiments and participated in five educational programs from understanding the effects of space habitat designs on astronaut stress levels to exploring cellular structure changes and gene expression in microgravity.^[6] The mission's patch shows Muninn gliding around Earth to share the knowledge collected by Wandt.^[8] The dark blue circle represents Earth and includes lighter lines depicting Sweden.^[8]

Crew

All four crewmembers have backgrounds as military pilots.^[9] Michael López-Alegría was the commander as an employee of Axiom; Walter Villadei from the Italian Air Force was the mission pilot.^[10] The mission specialists were Alper Gezeravcı who was the first astronaut from Turkey;^[11]^[12] and Swedish project astronaut Marcus Wandt.^[7]

Prime crew
Position	Astronaut
Commander	/  Michael López-Alegría, Axiom Space Sixth spaceflight
Pilot	Walter Villadei, AM Second spaceflight
Mission Specialist 1	Alper Gezeravcı, TUA First spaceflight
Mission Specialist 2	/ Marcus Wandt, SNSA / ESA First spaceflight

Backup crew
Position	Astronaut
Commander	Peggy Whitson, Axiom Space
Mission Specialist	Tuva Cihangir Atasever, TUA

Mission

The crew lifted off on a Falcon 9 from LC-39A Florida to dock with the International Space Station for an intended mission duration of approximately two weeks.^[13] Final mission duration was 21 days; mission ended with a splashdown into the Atlantic Ocean on 9 February 2024.