Dragon Undocks From Station, Crew Headed Back to Earth

SpaceX's Dragon Endurance spacecraft carrying the Crew-7 quartet approaches the International Space Station for docking on August 27, 2023, as it soared 261 miles above the Atlantic ocean.
SpaceX’s Dragon Endurance spacecraft carrying the Crew-7 quartet approaches the International Space Station for docking on August 27, 2023, as it soared 261 miles above the Atlantic Ocean.

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft with NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov inside undocked from the forward-facing port of the International Space Station’s Harmony module at 11:20 a.m. EDT to complete a nearly six-month science mission.

NASA coverage of Crew-7’s return will continue with audio only, and full coverage will resume at the start of the splashdown broadcast. Real-time audio between Crew-7 and flight controllers at NASA’s Mission Audio stream will remain available and includes conversations with astronauts aboard the space station and a live video feed from the orbiting laboratory.

NASA TV coverage will resume at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday until Dragon splashes down at approximately 5:50 a.m. on Tuesday, March 12, off the coast of Florida and Crew-7 members are recovered.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission launched Aug. 26, 2023, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.


More details about the mission and NASA’s commercial crew program can be found by following the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew and commercial crew on Facebook.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Dragon Hatch Closed; Crew Readies for Undocking From Station

Four Expedition 70 crewmates pose in the pressure suits they will wear when they return to Earth aboard the SpaceX Dragon "Endurance" spacecraft. From left are, Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mohgensen, NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa. The quartet arrived at the International Space Station on Aug. 27, 2023, as SpaceX Crew-7 members aboard Dragon and will splash down off the coast of Florida inside the same spacecraft completing a six-and-a-half-month space research mission.
Four Expedition 70 crewmates pose in the pressure suits they will wear when they return to Earth aboard the SpaceX Dragon “Endurance” spacecraft. From left are, Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mohgensen, NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa.

At 9:15 a.m. EDT, the hatch closed between the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and the International Space Station in preparation for undocking and return to Earth of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission with NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov.

NASA+, NASA TV, the NASA app and the agency’s website will air live coverage beginning at 11 a.m., for undocking scheduled at 11:20 a.m. Following conclusion of undocking coverage, NASA coverage of Crew-7’s return will continue with audio only, and full coverage will resume at the start of the splashdown broadcast at 4:30 a.m. EDT Tuesday. Real-time audio between Crew-7 and flight controllers at NASA’s Mission Audio stream will remain available.


More details about the mission and NASA’s commercial crew program can be found by following the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew and commercial crew on Facebook.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Get weekly updates from NASA Johnson Space Center at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/

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Dragon Hatch Closing Soon With Crew Aboard Live on NASA TV

The four SpaceX Crew-7 members pose for a portrait in their pressure suits. From left are, Jasmin Moghbeli, Andreas Mogensen, Satoshi Furukawa, and Konstantin Borisov. Credit: SpaceX
The four SpaceX Crew-7 members pose for a portrait in their pressure suits. From left are, Jasmin Moghbeli, Andreas Mogensen, Satoshi Furukawa, and Konstantin Borisov. Credit: SpaceX

Watch live coverage now on NASA+, NASA TV, the NASA app and the agency’s website as hatch closure and undocking preparations are underway for the return of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission.

NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov are in the process of boarding the SpaceX Dragon for departure from the International Space Station.

Crew-7 is targeting a return to Earth at about 5:50 a.m. EDT Tuesday, March 12, with a splashdown off the coast of Florida. The Dragon spacecraft, named Endurance, is scheduled to undock from the International Space Station at 11:20 a.m. on Monday, March 11, to begin the journey home.

Dragon will autonomously undock, depart the space station, and splash down off the coast of Florida. Dragon also will return important and time-sensitive research to Earth.


Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 Mission Coverage is Underway!

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Dragon spacecraft on top is seen at sunset on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, as preparations continue for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The eighth crew rotation mission with SpaceX and the ninth flight of Dragon with people as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program is slated to carry NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin to the International Space Station from Launch Complex 39A at 11:16 p.m. EST on Saturday, March 2.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company’s Dragon spacecraft on top is seen on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. Photo credit: SpaceX

Good evening and welcome to live coverage of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission – the eighth crew rotation flight and the ninth human spaceflight mission on SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

Launch weather officers from the U.S. Space’s Force 45th Weather Squadron predict a 40% chance of favorable weather conditions at the launch pad for liftoff. The primary weather concerns for the launch area are flight through precipitation and the thick cloud cover.

Launch is scheduled for 11:16 p.m. EST on Saturday, March 2, from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Here at Kennedy, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, topped by the company’s Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, awaits liftoff just after midnight. NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, commander; Michael Barratt, pilot; Jeanette Epps, mission specialist; along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, mission specialist, will fly to the space station aboard Dragon, which previously flew NASA’s SpaceX Demo Mission-2, Crew-2 and Crew-6, in addition to Axiom Mission 1, the first commercial astronaut mission to the microgravity laboratory.

The countdown is proceeding according to schedule. At Kennedy’s Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building, the astronauts have eaten and will undergo medical checks and get a final weather briefing before suiting up.

Starting at 7:15 p.m. EST, on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website there will be continuous live coverage of important Crew-8 activities.

Stay with us as the countdown continues. We’ll keep you updated on the key milestones throughout this mission. Details about the mission and NASA’s Commercial Crew Program can be found by following the Crew-8 blog, the commercial crew blog, X, and Facebook.

Ax-2 Astronauts Undock from Station Inside Dragon Freedom

May 30, 2023: International Space Station Configuration. Four spaceships are docked at the space station including the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour crew ship and Roscosmos' Soyuz MS-23 crew ship and Progress 83 and 84 resupply ships.
May 30, 2023: International Space Station Configuration. Four spaceships are docked at the space station including the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour crew ship and Roscosmos’ Soyuz MS-23 crew ship and Progress 83 and 84 resupply ships.

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft undocked from the space-facing port of the International Space Station’s Harmony module at 11:05 a.m. EDT to complete the second all-private astronaut mission to the orbiting laboratory, Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2).

Dragon is slowly maneuvering away from the orbital laboratory into an orbital track that will return the astronaut crew and its cargo safely to Earth, targeting a splashdown off the coast of Panama City, Florida, targeted about 11:04 p.m. EDT Tuesday, May 30.

Ax-2 Commander Peggy Whitson, John Shoffner, Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi will complete 9 days in space at the conclusion of their mission. The SpaceX Dragon will return to Earth with more than 300 pounds of science and supplies, including NASA experiments and hardware.

Joint operations with the Axiom and SpaceX mission teams end and NASA coverage of the mission concludes when the spacecraft exits the area of the space station, approximately 30 minutes after undocking.

Axiom Space leads independent mission operations for Ax-2 and will resume coverage of Dragon’s re-entry and splashdown.


Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog@space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Ax-2 Astronauts Enter Dragon Freedom, Close Hatch

Ax-2 Commander Peggy Whitson (foreground) and Pilot John Shoffner (background) are suited up and seated inside the SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft preparing to undock from the space station. Credit: NASA TV
Ax-2 Commander Peggy Whitson (foreground) and Pilot John Shoffner (background) are suited up and seated inside the SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft preparing to undock from the space station. Credit: NASA TV

At 9:20 a.m. EDT, the hatch closed between the Dragon spacecraft and the  International Space Station in preparation for undocking and return to Earth of the Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) with astronauts Peggy Whitson, John Shoffner, Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi.

NASA Television will air  live coverage  resuming at 10:45 a.m. in advance of the planned departure of Dragon with undocking about 11:05 a.m. and will continue until about 30 minutes after undocking when joint operations with the Axiom and SpaceX mission teams ends.

Today’s undocking will begin the Ax-2 mission’s journey home with splashdown off the coast of Tampa, Florida, no earlier than approximately 11 p.m. EDT Tuesday, May 30.


Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog@space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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Ax-2 Astronauts Ending Station Mission Live on NASA TV

The Axiom Mission-2 (Ax-2) and Expedition 69 crew members join each other for a Crew Farewell Ceremony on May 29, 2023. In the front row (from left) are, Ax-2 crew mates Peggy Whitson, Ali Alqarni, John Shoffner, and Rayyanah Barnawi. In the back (from left) are, Expedition 69 crew mates Frank Rubio, Andrey Fedyaev, Sultan Alneyadi, Dmitri Petelin, Sergey Prokopyev, Woody Hoburg, and Stephen Bowen.
The Axiom Mission-2 (Ax-2) and Expedition 69 crew members join each other for a Crew Farewell Ceremony on May 29, 2023. In the front row (from left) are, Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Frank Rubio with Ax-2 crew mates Peggy Whitson, Ali Alqarni, John Shoffner, and Rayyanah Barnawi. In the back (from left) are, Expedition 69 crew mates Andrey Fedyaev, Sultan Alneyadi, Dmitri Petelin, Sergey Prokopyev, Woody Hoburg, and Stephen Bowen.

NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website are providing live coverage from the International Space Station for the closure of the hatches between the station and the Dragon spacecraft to prepare for undocking and departure of the second private astronaut mission to the station, Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2).

Hatch closure is expected at about 9:10 a.m. EDT. The four-member private astronaut crew is scheduled to undock at 11:05 a.m. Tuesday, May 30, to begin the journey home with splashdown off the coast of Florida.

NASA coverage will break following hatch closure and resume at 10:45 a.m. in advance of the planned undocking and will continue until about 30 minutes after undocking when joint operations with the Axiom and SpaceX mission teams ends.

Ax-2 crew members Peggy Whitson, John Shoffner, Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi will complete 10 days in space at the conclusion of their mission. SpaceX Dragon will return to Earth with more than 300 pounds of cargo, including NASA hardware and data from over 20 different experiments.


Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog@space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Station Welcomes Axiom Astronauts and Preps for Next Cargo Mission

The SpaceX Freedom Dragon crew ship with four Axiom Mission-2 private astronauts aboard is pictured approaching the International Space Station.
The SpaceX Freedom Dragon crew ship with four Axiom Mission-2 private astronauts aboard is pictured approaching the International Space Station.

11 crew members are living aboard the International Space Station with four spaceships now docked to the orbiting lab. A fifth spaceship is due to launch Wednesday and arrive a few hours later with cargo to replenish the Expedition 69 crew.

Two SpaceX Dragon crew ships are docked adjacent to each other on the station’s Harmony module after the arrival of Axiom Mission-2 (Ax-2) aboard Dragon Freedom on Monday at 9:12 a.m. EDT. The four private astronauts from Axiom Space opened Freedom’s hatch at 11 a.m. and entered the station beginning eight days of docked operations.

The private quartet consisting of Commander Peggy Whitson, Pilot John Shoffner, and Mission Specialists Al Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi spent Tuesday getting familiar with station operations. They practiced preparing food and drinks, conducting hygiene practices, performing safety procedures, and operating lab equipment while getting used to living in space.

At the end of the day, the foursome joined the seven-member Expedition 69 crew and reviewed roles and responsibilities in the unlikely event of an emergency. The international crew of 11 located safety gear such as fire extinguishers and portable breathing gear, followed escape routes, and coordinated communications with mission controllers in response to fire, ammonia leak, or pressure leak events.

In the middle of the new crew adaptation activities, there was still time for ongoing space science and lab maintenance activities. NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio serviced a variety of components and swapped samples inside a research furnace and a fluorescence microscope. NASA Flight Engineer Woody Hoburg configured gear supporting a pharmaceutical study, while UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi set up the Stellar Stem Cells experiment, an Ax-2 investigation, that will explore regenerative medicine therapies.

NASA Flight Engineer Stephen Bowen spent his day with the Ax-2 crew and joined Commander Whitson transferring emergency gear and configuring safety hardware between Dragon Freedom and the space station. Bowen and former NASA astronaut Whitson are both Dragon crew ship commanders with Bowen leading the SpaceX Crew-6 mission aboard the Dragon Endeavour spacecraft.

The next mission to launch to the orbital outpost is an uncrewed cargo mission from Roscosmos counting down to its liftoff at 8:56 a.m. EDT on Wednesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The ISS Progress 84 (84P) cargo craft will dock to the Poisk module just under three-and-a-half hours later at 12:20 p.m. delivering about three tons of food, fuel, and supplies to the orbital residents. Expedition 69 Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin will be on duty monitoring 84P’s arrival then open its hatch several hours later to begin offloading the new cargo.


Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog@space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Four Axiom Mission-2 Private Astronauts Enter Station

The four Axiom Mission-2 crew members join the seven-member Expedition 69 crew aboard the station and gather together for a crew greeting ceremony. Credit: NASA TV
The four Axiom Mission-2 crew members join the seven-member Expedition 69 crew aboard the station and gather together for a crew greeting ceremony. Credit: NASA TV

Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) astronauts Peggy Whitson, John Shoffner, Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi now are aboard the International Space Station following Dragon’s hatch opening at 11 a.m. EDT Monday, May 22.

Ax-2 docked to the orbital complex at 9:12 a.m. on the second mission with an entirely private crew to arrive at the orbiting laboratory.

The Axiom Space crew are joining Expedition 69 crew members aboard station, including NASA astronauts Frank Rubio, Woody Hoburg, and Stephen Bowen, UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Dmitri Petelin, Andrey Fedyaev, and Sergey Prokopyev.

Next up, the station crew members will take part in a welcome ceremony aboard the International Space Station.

Axiom Space astronauts are expected to depart the space station May 30, pending weather, for a return to Earth and splashdown at a landing site off the coast of Florida


Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog@space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Four Axiom Mission-2 Astronauts Dock to Station

Four spaceships are docked at the space station including the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour and Freedom crew ships and Roscosmos' Soyuz MS-23 crew ship and Progress 83 resupply ship.
Four spaceships are docked at the space station including the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour and Freedom crew ships and Roscosmos’ Soyuz MS-23 crew ship and Progress 83 resupply ship.

Axiom Mission 2 astronauts Peggy Whitson, John Shoffner, Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi arrived at the International Space Station at 9:12 a.m. EDT Monday, May 22, on the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. Live coverage continues on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website for hatch opening and the welcome ceremony.

Live coverage continue on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website for hatch opening and the welcome ceremony.


Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog@space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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