After several days of delays, second Israeli in space begins journey back to Earth

Eytan Stibbe and the crew of Axiom-1 had originally been set to return on Wednesday, are now expected to splash down off the coast of Florida on Monday

The Ax-1 crew, including Israeli Eytan Stibbe, sit in the Dragon capsule ahead of their return to Earth from the International Space Station on April 24, 2022 (Screencapture/Axiom Space)
The Ax-1 crew, including Israeli Eytan Stibbe, sit in the Dragon capsule ahead of their return to Earth from the International Space Station on April 24, 2022 (Screencapture/Axiom Space)

Israeli astronaut Eytan Stibbe and the rest of the crew of the Axiom-1 departed the International Space Station on Sunday evening after several days of delay.

The SpaceX capsule began undocking from the ISS at 8:55 p.m. (0055 GMT Monday) for the return trip, and was expected to land in the ocean off the coast of Florida on Monday around 1 p.m. (1700 GMT).

Stibbe and his three crewmates — the first-ever all-private mission to the ISS — had originally been set to come back on Wednesday, but unfavorable weather conditions for a splashdown in the ocean led to the capsule’s return being repeatedly put off.

Stibbe, a businessman and former fighter pilot, was one of four astronauts who took off earlier this month for the privately funded mission that successfully docked at the ISS the next day.

During their stay on the space station, the group stuck to a regimented schedule, which included about 14 hours per day of activities, including scientific research.

The first-ever Israeli astronaut, Ilan Ramon, was killed in 2003 when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon reentry into the atmosphere, killing all seven crew members on board. Members of the Ramon family were on hand when Stibbe’s flight was first announced in 2020, and were also present at the takeoff in Orlando.

This photo provided by SpaceX shows the SpaceX crew seated in the Dragon spacecraft on Friday, April 8, 2022, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Israeli Eytan Stibbe is at right. (SpaceX via AP)

Stibbe carried with him surviving pages from Ramon’s space diary, as well as mementos from his children.

Unlike the recent, attention-grabbing suborbital flights carried out by Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic, Axiom says its mission shouldn’t be considered tourism due to its scientific goals.

NASA has hailed the three-way partnership with Axiom Space and SpaceX as a key step toward commercializing the region of space known as “Low Earth Orbit,” leaving the agency to focus on more ambitious voyages deeper into the cosmos.

NASA has already given the green light, in principle, to a second mission: Ax-2.

The Dragon capsule carrying the Ax-1 crew, including Israeli Eytan Stibbe
disconnects from the International Space Station on April 24, 2022 ahead of their return to Earth (Screencapture/Axiom Space)

The departure of the Ax-1 crew will leave seven people on the ISS: three Americans, a German and three Russians.

Monday’s sea landing of a manned Dragon capsule will be the fifth to date.

SpaceX, owned by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, is now regularly ferrying NASA astronauts to and from the space station.

Last year SpaceX launched another entirely private mission, but it simply orbited the Earth for three days, not linking up with the ISS.

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