All-private SpaceX astronaut mission on its way home after a week of delays

The first all-private mission to the International Space Station began its return trip Sunday evening after a string of delays dragged the mission out for a week longer than expected because of weather and other inopportune circumstances.

The mission, called AX-1, was brokered by the Houston, Texas-based startup Axiom Space, which books rocket rides, provides all the necessary training, and coordinates flights to the ISS for anyone who can afford it.

The four crew members — Michael López-Alegría, a former NASA astronaut-turned-Axiom employee who is commanding the mission; Israeli businessman Eytan Stibbe; Canadian investor Mark Pathy; and Ohio-based real estate magnate Larry Connor — left the space station aboard their SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule on Sunday at 9:10 pm EST. But as had happened so often already with this mission, there was one more delay, as the capsule departed 15 minutes past the original planned departure time of 8:55 pm EST, as the capsule occupants dealt with minor communications issues.

They will spend about one day free flying through orbit before plummeting back into the atmosphere and parachuting to a splashdown landing off the coast of Florida around 1 pm ET Monday.

AX-1, which launched on April 8, was originally billed as a 10-day mission, but delays extended the mission by about a week.

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During their first 12 days on the space station, the group stuck to a regimented schedule, which included about 14 hours per day of activities, including scientific research that was designed by various research hospitals, universities, tech companies and more. They also spent time doing outreach events by video conferencing with children and students.