NASA Television will provide live coverage of the departure of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft from the International Space Station beginning at 9:30 a.m. EDT. Dragon was detached from the Earth-facing side of the station’s Harmony module earlier this morning. Mission control will maneuver Dragon into place then turn it over to Expedition 41 robotic arm operators Reid Wiseman and Barry Wilmore of NASA for release, scheduled for approximately 9:57 a.m.
The Dragon arrived to the space station Sept. 23 after a Sept. 21 launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida carrying almost 5,000 pounds of supplies and elements to support 255 scientific investigations the crew members of Expeditions 41 and 42 will conduct.
Release of the spacecraft by the station’s robotic arm will begin the Dragon’s return to Earth carrying more than 3,276 pounds of NASA cargo and science samples from human research, biology and biotechnology studies, physical science investigations and education activities sponsored by NASA and the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, the nonprofit organization responsible for managing research aboard the U.S. national laboratory portion of the space station.
The capsule is currently scheduled to splashdown in the Pacific Ocean about 3:39 p.m., approximately 265 miles west of the Baja peninsula.