NASA SpaceX Crew-3 Dragon Undocks From the International Space Station

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 forward port of the International Space Station’s Harmony module at 1:20 a.m. EDT (10:20 p.m. PDT on May 4) to complete a nearly six-month science mission.

Two hours earlier, at 11:20 p.m. EDT (8:20 p.m. PDT) 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 the hatch closed between it and the International Space Station in preparation for undocking and return to Earth of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 mission. Credit: NASA TV

The return timeline with approximate times (all times Eastern):

Thursday, May 5

11:48 p.m.     Trunk jettison

11:53 p.m.     Deorbit burn

Friday, May 6

12:04 p.m.     Nosecone closed

12:43 a.m.     Dragon splashdown

NASA will continue to provide live coverage until Endurance splashes down off the coast of Florida and the Crew-3 astronauts are recovered off the coast of Florida.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 mission launched on November 10, 2021, on a Falcon 9 rocket from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and docked to the space station on November 11.