SpaceX’s Crew-3 astronauts will depart the International Space Station (ISS) early Thursday morning after a six-month stay aboard the orbital laboratory.
NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn and Kayla Barron, along with European Space Agency (ESA) Matthias Maurer, arrived at the ISS in November 2021.
Crew members have spent their time in space conducting scientific research under microgravity conditions, performing spacewalks outside of the station, sharing their space experiences with people on the ground, and enjoying the beautiful scenery offered by their unique location 250 miles above Earth. They even found time to “dance” a bit.
But now it’s time to come home.
What to expect
The live stream shows the Crew 3 astronauts preparing to undock from the ISS. It also shows the capsule moving away from the station as the crew members begin their journey home. Audio feeds between the astronauts and mission control will also be part of the coverage, allowing viewers to follow exactly what’s going on.
Around 23 hours after undocking, the live stream shows the last moments of the journey home. The Crew Dragon’s descent is slowed by parachutes before landing in the sea off the Florida coast. A salvage team on boats will then bring the capsule back to land, after which the astronauts will be able to breathe fresh air for the first time in six months.
like watching
The Crew Dragon capsule is scheduled to undock from the ISS on Thursday, May 5 (10:05 p.m. PT, Wednesday) at 1:05 a.m. ET. You can follow the process through the embedded player at the top of this page or by going to NASA websitebroadcasting the same live stream.
NASA will also report on the splashdown, which is expected to take place off the coast of Florida around 12:37 a.m. on Friday, May 6 (9:37 p.m. PT, Thursday).
As always, NASA is closely monitoring weather conditions at the recovery site. If they are deemed unsuitable, undocking will be delayed. NASA Twitter account provides the latest updates should there be any timetable changes and we will update this page with any timetable changes.
For more information on how astronauts live and work aboard the International Space Station, check out these insightful videos created by visitors over the years.
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