Crew-4 is expected to return to Earth today after two consecutive days of delays over weather concerns.
NASA SpaceX’s Crew-4 Dragon Capsule, titled Freedom, is expected to splashdown at the coast of Florida at 4:50 PM EDT (Saturday, 1:30 AM IST), with undocking from the International Space Station at no earlier than 11:35 AM EDT (approximately 9:00 PM IST) SpaceX’s Crew-4 mission will leave the International Space Station today after two failed attempts due to weather concerns.
This marks the end of nearly a six-month mission for NASA astronauts Bob Hines, Kjell Lindgren, and Jessica Watkins, as well as Italian ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti. Crew-4 was launched through the SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket on April 27 from the Kennedy Space Center and arrived at the International Space Station, that day. The astronauts were expected to depart from the space station aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule Thursday morning, however, NASA was forced to postpone the departure due to unfavorable weather conditions on Earth.
Weather forcing delays and changes in spacecraft are common, with the Crew Dragon Spacecraft having had seven potential landing zones – Pensacola, Tampa, Tallahassee, Panama City, Cape Canaveral, Daytona and Jacksonville.
The undocking of the Dragon is expected to go smoothly today, considering favourable conditions including the readiness of the spacecraft and crew, weather conditions, sea levels and states among other factors. The return’s live coverage is currently broadcasting on NASA’s YouTube channel, NASA Television, the NASA app and the official website, and is expected to conduct an audio-only teleconference, post splashdown.
The itinerary of the return is expected to follow the following schedule:
(The following schedule follows EDT)
- Hatch closure at 9:55 A.M.
- Undocking is expected to begin at 11:15 A.M.
- Splashdown on the coast of Florida at approximately 4:50 P.M.
- NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston is expected to host a media teleconference for the mission’s return to Earth at 6:30 PM headed by: Steve Stich, Manager, Commercial Crew Program, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Joel Montalbano, Manager, International Space Station, NASA’s Johnson Space Center and Sarah Walker, Director, Dragon Mission Management, SpaceX
Crew-4 becomes the fourth flight under the NASA- SpaceX partnership. SpaceX launched another Crew Dragon spacecraft last week named Endurance (Crew-5) and docked at the space station to spend the next several months conducting more research. Crew-5 consists of NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, astronaut Koichi Wakata, of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina. Despite anxiety over the conflict in Ukraine, Crew-5 creates history b launching a Russian cosmonaut launched from the United States, for the first time in 20 years, joining NASA and Japanese astronauts in space.
The Crew-4 makes history for ISS, with Jessica Watkins becoming the first Black woman to work with the space station crew at the International Space Station. While multiple Black and Black American women have travelled to space in the last decade or so, Watkins becomes the first to live and work in space for an extended period of time.
SpaceX, headed by CEO Elon Musk, developed the Crew Dragon spacecraft under a $2.6 billion contract with NASA as part of the Commercial Crew Program, with the intention to move NASA into a customer-like role, allowing private players to create, design and test new spacecraft, yet providing complete ownership over the vehicles.
