If everything goes according to plan, the private mission will leave the International Space Station on Saturday night.
The four-person Ax-1 was supposed to leave the space station on Tuesday after a 10-day stay. Mission team members were forced to rethink their plan after bad weather forecastsnixed it.
It has taken a few days, but a new schedule has been put in place, and it will happen on Saturday. The splash down will take place on Sunday at 1:45 p.m. NASA officials said weather permitting.
Live updates: Ax-1 private mission to space station
Related: See amazing photos of SpaceX's Ax-1 private astronaut launch and mission
The decision was made based on the best weather for splashdown of the first private astronauts mission to visit the International Space Station and the return trajectory required to bring the crew back to Earth safely, according to an update on Wednesday night.
The teams will continue to monitor the weather at the splashdown sites prior to the undocking to ensure that the conditions are safe for the recovery of the Ax-1 astronauts.
The Houston company that organized the event is called Axiom Space. The mission is commanded by a man who was anastrologer for NASA, Michael Lopez-Alegr. The other crew members are paying their customers.
The Crew-4 mission, which will deliver three NASA astronauts and a European Space Agency spaceflyer to the International Space Station, will be affected by the new departure plan. Crew-4 was supposed to launch on Saturday, but that is no longer the case, as the mission will use the International Space Station docking port, and NASA wants to leave a two-day window between the splashdown of Ax-1 and the launch of Crew-4.
The earliest possible launch opportunity for the Crew-4 mission is 1:45 a.m. NASA officials wrote in Wednesday's update that the launch opportunities are undergoing a more detailed program review to make sure they align with operational timelines.
When the time comes, you can follow all of these activities at Space.com.
Mike Wall is the author of Out There, a book about the search for alien life. You can follow him on social media. Follow us on social media.
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