Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program, NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Joel Montalbano, manger, International Space Station, NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Sarah Walker, director, Dragon Mission Management, SpaceX.
NASA and SpaceX will continue to keep an eye on splashdown and recovery conditions with another weather condition review planned for around 8 hours before undocking. Five spaceships are docked at the area station including the SpaceX Crew Dragons Freedom and Endurance; and Russias Soyuz MS-22 crew ship and the Progress 80 and 81 resupply ships. Credit: NASA
Dragons hatch closing, undocking, and splashdown protection will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the companys site. NASA also will host an audio-only post-splashdown news teleconference.
The SpaceX Dragon Freedom capsule is seen after docking to the International Space Station while the station was orbiting 261 statute miles above the Pacific Ocean. Credit: NASA
Crew-4 was scheduled to undock from the International Space Station (ISS) at 7:05 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, October 12, to begin their journey back to Earth. Due to bad weather condition near the splashdown zones, the return house was postponed, with a new prepared undocking at 10:05 a.m. on Thursday, October 13.
NASA and SpaceX are now targeting no earlier than 11:35 a.m. EDT (8:35 a.m. PDT) on Friday, October 14, for the Crew-4 undocking from the (ISS) to start their return trip to Earth completing an almost six-month science objective in orbit. Splashdown is targeted several hours later at roughly 4:50 p.m. off the coast of Florida.
Mission teams continued to keep an eye on a cold front going through Florida on Thursday, October 13, which brought high winds and rainy weather near the splashdown zones off the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Current weather predictions are showing greater projection certainty Friday due to a high-pressure system behind the cold front. This is expected to bring more favorable conditions for splashdown and recovery. NASA and SpaceX will continue to keep track of splashdown and healing conditions with another weather condition review planned for around eight hours before undocking. Teams also will examine multiple alternatives for undocking opportunities Friday and Saturday.
International Space Station Configuration. Five spaceships are docked at the spaceport station consisting of the SpaceX Crew Dragons Freedom and Endurance; and Russias Soyuz MS-22 team ship and the Progress 80 and 81 resupply ships. Credit: NASA
Crew-4s Dragon undocking depends on a range of factors, consisting of spacecraft preparedness, healing team readiness, sea states, weather, and other elements. Dragon Freedom stays healthy while presently docked to the orbiting lab.
NASA will provide live coverage of the upcoming return activities for the Crew-4 mission with NASA astronauts Bob Hines, Kjell Lindgren, and Jessica Watkins, along with ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti.
Dragons hatch closing, undocking, and splashdown coverage will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agencys website. NASA also will host an audio-only post-splashdown news teleconference. Follow all live occasions at:
https://www.nasa.gov/live
NASAs SpaceX Crew-4 return protection is as follows (perpetuity Eastern):.
Friday, October 14.
9:30 a.m.– Hatch closure protection begins for the around 9:55 a.m. hatch closing11:15 a.m.– Undocking coverage begins for 11:35 a.m. undocking with a Friday splashdown4:50 p.m. (around)– Splashdown off the coast of Florida6:30 p.m.– Return to Earth media teleconference call from NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston with:.