Splashdown: NASA’s Crew-4 astronauts set to return to Earth Thursday
Three astronauts from NASA and a fourth from the European Space Agency are scheduled to land back on earth this week after nearly six months in space.
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Mission Specialists Jessica Watkins and Samantha Cristorforetti along with Commander Kjell Lindgren and Pilot Robert Hines took off from the Kennedy Space Center atop a Falcon 9 rocket back in April, on the way to the International Space Station for a science mission.
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The Dragon Freedom spacecraft is scheduled to undock from the space station at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday evening to start the long trip back to Earth.
NASA and SpaceX are aiming for 5:41 p.m. Thursday for splashdown at one of seven targeted landing zones in either the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida.
.@NASA and @SpaceX are targeting 5:41pm EDT Oct.13, for the splashdown of the Crew-4 flight, wrapping up a nearly six-month science mission. The Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to undock from the @Space_Station at 7:05pm EDT Oct.12, for the journey home.https://t.co/fRHv0qNkcA pic.twitter.com/phmMM7YGRF
— NASA Commercial Crew (@Commercial_Crew) October 11, 2022
NASA says they’re still closely monitoring the weather as teams track a cold front forecast to pass over the splashdown areas. If necessary, there will be other opportunities to undock Thursday.
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Just after 10 a.m. Wednesday, the Crew-4 astronauts will share a farewell from the space station before Commander Cristorforetti hands command of the station over to a cosmonaut from the Russian space agency Roscosmos.
The Crew-4 astronauts will also return to Earth with important research from the scientific investigations carried out during their six months aboard the space station.
NASA will provide live coverage of the entire process, including a post-splashdown audio teleconference here.
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For more information about NASA’s Commercial Crew mission, click here.
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