March 11 (UPI) On Monday, crew members of SpaceX’s Crew-7 separated from the International Space Station and began their journey back to Earth.
Dragon broke away from the International Space Station around 11:20 a.m., according to SpaceX. EDT
On August 26, 2023, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
To depart from the ISS, the spacecraft will now carry out several departure burns, according to SpaceX. “Dragon will re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere and splash down the coast of Florida in [about] 19 hours.”
NASA will continue to provide audio-only coverage of Crew-7’s return; full coverage will recommence with the onset of the splashdown broadcast. Conversations with astronauts on board the space station and a live video feed from the orbiting laboratory are both included in the real-time audio between Crew-7 and flight controllers at NASA’s Mission Audio stream. This will continue to be accessible.
Crew-7 performed a variety of research, maintenance, technological demonstrations, and scientific activities while stationed on the International Space Station (ISS).
NASA TV will return to programming at 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday, March 12, until Dragon splashes down off the coast of Florida at roughly 5:50 a.m., at which point Crew 7 members will be retrieved.
Jasmin Moghbeli, a NASA astronaut, Andreas Mogensen of the European Space Agency (ESA), Satoshi Furukawa of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Konstantin Borisov of Roscosmos are among the foreign crew members. Assuming an on-time splashdown tomorrow (March 12), their mission will last 199 days.
Closed Dragon Hatch; Crew Prepares to Undock From Station
On August 27, 2023, the Dragon hatch between the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and the International Space Station closed in preparation for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission’s undocking and return to Earth.
On August 27, the crew—which also included Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, and JAXA astronaut Satoshi Furukawa—arrived at the International Space Station.
The agency’s website, NASA+, NASA TV, the NASA app, and other platforms will all offer live coverage of the undocking. NASA’s Mission Communication Stream will provide real-time communication between Crew-7 and flight controllers after undocking. After that, the agency will only provide audio coverage.