--- title: "Tourists Have Been Trapped on the Space Station for a Hilariously Long Time" description: "For the first entirely private group of space tourists, the ISS is starting to seem a lot like \"Hotel California.\"" date: "2022-04-21" modified: "2022-04-21" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/tourists-trapped-on-iss" categories: - "Off-World" - "Space" tags: - "axiom space" - "international space station" - "space tourism" - "SpaceX" - "the digest" --- # Tourists Have Been Trapped on the Space Station for a Hilariously Long Time ![For the first entirely private group of space tourists, the ISS is starting to seem a lot like "Hotel California."]() *\Image: Axiom Space\* ## Programmed to Receive For the first entirely private group of space tourists aboard the International Space Station, the orbital outpost is starting to seem a bit like "[Hotel California]()." The team of "civilian astronauts" [departed for the ISS on April 8](), and were supposed to return to terra firma on April 19, which would have given them a full 10 days of [drinking recycled pee]() in zero gravity. But because of poor weather conditions off the coast of Florida where SpaceX recovers its Crew Dragon capsules, the date for the space tourists' "splashdown" keeps getting pushed back, [per a NASA update](). ## Make a Splash The return of the team led by former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría [was initially pushed back to April 20](), but NASA's latest update says that they'll be able to return on April 24 — a full five additional days since their original splashdown date. "Teams will continue to monitor weather at the splashdown sites prior to undocking to ensure conditions are acceptable for a safe recovery of the Ax-1 astronauts and Dragon spacecraft," NASA officials wrote in the agency's April 20 blog post about the pushback. There are, per NASA, more than enough supplies for all 11 people currently aboard the space station to outlast than the initial 10 days the private astronauts were scheduled to be aboard. But, in spite of the value pack vacation it's turned out to be, it's not hard to imagine wanting to get back on Earth where the gravity's normal and where you can eat real food and drink water that didn't come out of your fellow crewmates. **READ MORE:** [Station Crew Awaits Ax-1 Departure and Crew-4 Launch]() \[NASA\] **More on space tourism:** [*Man Getting Paid to Fly Rich Guys to Space Says Don’t Worry, They’re Not Just Idle Tourists*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()