A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft is scheduled to depart the International Space Station on Tuesday, June 16, to return scientific research samples and station hardware to Earth, NASA announced on Friday, June 12.
The spacecraft is scheduled to undock from the forward port of the station's Harmony module at approximately 12:05 p.m. EDT, following commands from SpaceX ground controllers. It will then utilize its thrusters to move safely away from the orbiting laboratory.
NASA plans to provide live coverage of the undocking starting at 11:45 a.m. EDT on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and the agency's YouTube channel.
Following its departure, the capsule is projected to reenter Earth's atmosphere and splash down off the coast of California at roughly 5:08 a.m. PDT on Wednesday, June 17. While NASA will not broadcast the splashdown live, it intends to share operational updates via its space station blog.
The Dragon capsule will return carrying thousands of pounds of cargo. The scientific payload includes bioprinted organ and cartilage tissue, data regarding cryogenic fuel storage enhancements for future space exploration, and DNA-inspired materials developed for potential cancer treatments.
Additionally, the spacecraft will return several pieces of station hardware, including an ocular imaging device utilized for monitoring astronaut eye health, an absorbent bed that filters trace cabin air contaminants, and a separator pump from the station's waste and hygiene compartment.
The spacecraft originally arrived at the International Space Station on May 17, two days after launching on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Upon arrival, it delivered nearly 6,500 pounds of crew supplies, equipment, and scientific experiments to the Expedition 74 crew.
I truly appreciate you spending your valuable time here. To help make this blog the best it can be, I would love your feedback on this post. Let me know in the comments: How could this article be better? Was it clear? Did it have the right amount of detail? Did you notice any errors?
If you found any of the articles helpful, please consider sharing it.