Crew-12 set to leave space station Wednesday, splash down Thursday
NASA and SpaceX are aiming for 8:05 a.m. EDT Wednesday for four Crew-12 astronauts to undock from the International Space Station, ending a stay of nearly eight months. Splashdown off California is set for about 11:34 a.m. Thursday. NASA will stream the hatch closing, undocking and return live.
Four space travelers are packing for home. NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than 8:05 a.m. EDT Wednesday, Oct. 7, for the Crew-12 Dragon to undock from the International Space Station, weather permitting. That sets up a splashdown in the Pacific off California at about 11:34 a.m. EDT Thursday, Oct. 8.
The crew is NASA astronauts Jessica Meir, the commander, and Jack Hathaway, the pilot, along with Sophie Adenot of the European Space Agency and cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev of Russia's Roscosmos. They have lived on the station since Feb. 14.
The timing has moved. On Oct. 3, NASA had targeted a 1:05 a.m. undocking and a splashdown around 11:25 a.m. Thursday. The latest plan shifts undocking to 8:05 a.m. while keeping the Thursday return. NASA says the final call depends on spacecraft and recovery team readiness and on weather off California.
How to watch: NASA's coverage streams at nasa.gov/live. On Wednesday, hatch-closing coverage starts at 6 a.m., with the hatch closing at 6:20 a.m. Undocking coverage begins at 7:45 a.m. After that, NASA will carry audio only while Dragon pulls away. On Thursday, return coverage starts at 10:20 a.m., with the deorbit burn at 10:46 a.m. and splashdown at 11:34 a.m. A news briefing follows at 1:15 p.m. All times are Eastern.
The station is crowded for now. Eleven people are aboard after Crew-13 arrived Oct. 1. That crew, NASA's Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, Canada's Josh Kutryk and Russia's Sergey Teteryatnikov, docked less than eight hours after launch. NASA called it the fastest launch-to-docking for a U.S. spacecraft in station history, Teslarati reported.
On Sunday, Meir handed station command to cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov. He stays aboard with Anna Kikina and NASA's Anil Menon until spring 2027.
More traffic is coming. Northrop Grumman's Cygnus XL cargo ship is set to leave at the end of the week. SpaceX will then launch its 35th cargo mission to the station.
What we know: Undocking is set for 8:05 a.m. Wednesday, with splashdown about 11:34 a.m. Thursday.
What we don't: Whether Pacific weather allows the Thursday return to hold.
Where outlets agree NASA and Teslarati both report that Crew-13 docked to the station on Oct. 1, setting up Crew-12's handover and departure.
Where they differ NASA's Oct. 3 plan had Crew-12 undocking at 1:05 a.m. with splashdown near 11:25 a.m., while its latest advisory moves undocking to 8:05 a.m. and puts splashdown at 11:34 a.m.