The SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft is seen just after undocking from the forward port of the International Space Station’s Harmony module at 1:20 a.m. Credit: NASA TV
The SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft with NASA astronauts Kayla Barron, Raja Chari and Tom Marshburn, as well as ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer inside, undocked from the front port of the Harmony module of the International Space Station at 1:20 a.m. EDT (10:20 p.m. PDT May 4) to complete a nearly six-month science mission.
Two hours earlier, at 11:20 p.m. EDT (8:20 p.m. PDT) on Wednesday, May 4, the hatch closed between the Dragon Endurance spacecraft and the International Space Station in preparation for undocking and return to Earth.
The Dragon Endurance spacecraft is shown after closing the hatch between it and the International Space Station in preparation for the undocking and return to Earth of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 mission. Credit: NASATV
The return schedule with approximate hours (all Eastern times):
Thursday May 5
11:48 p.m. Release of the trunk
11:53 p.m. Deorbit burn
Friday, May 6
12:04 Nosecone closed
00:43 Dragon Splashdown
" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{" attribute="">Nasa will continue to provide live coverage until Endurance splashes down off the coast of Florida and Crew-3 astronauts are picked up off the coast of Florida.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 mission launched Nov. 10, 2021, on a Falcon 9 rocket from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and docked with the space station Nov. 11.