SpaceX Dragon with private Ax-1 astronaut crew departs International Space Station

The private crew from the space station is leaving for a return trip.

The International Space Station (ISS) has been the location of the first private astronauts mission.

The space capsule, named Endeavour, was unlatched from the lab at 9:10 p.m. On April 25th, it will start at 1310GMT. On Monday, April 25th, at 1:06 p.m., the shuttle will splash down off the Florida coast with its four passengers. All goes according to plan.

Thanks once again for all the support through this amazing adventure that we have had, and a radioed NASA's mission control in Houston. We really appreciate your professionalism, and we will sign off.

The capsule was delayed several times. Bad weather in the splashdown zone pushed back the arrival of Ax-1 by 12 hours. The poor conditions continued to cause additional delays until the shuttle was finally able to get on its way today.

There are amazing photos of the private spaceflight.

The first-ever all-private crewed mission to visit the station arrived at the station on April 9 after the crew of Endeavour and the Ax-1 flew into the sky on April 8.

The mission was organized by Houston company Axiom Space and is led by a former NASA Astronaut. The three passengers who paid the most for their seats are an American, a Canadian and an Israeli.

The second Israeli to reach space is Stibbe. Ilan Ramon was one of the crewmates who died in the Columbia shuttle disaster. They were friends.

It is not a one-off for the space. The company plans to start operating a private space station in the late 2020s or thereabouts, as well as booking several other missions to the lab with SpaceX.

The private Inspiration4 mission sent four people into space in a Dragon capsule for three days in September of 2021.

The extra time spent on the International Space Station did not cost the company any extra money. The company has a contract with NASA that covers a number of contingency days.

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.