Crew-12 Undocks from Space Station, Heads for Pacific Splashdown Thursday

NASA and SpaceX targeted no earlier than 8:05 a.m. EDT Wednesday, Oct. 7, for the undocking of the Crew Dragon spacecraft Freedom from the International Space Station, with four astronauts aboard and a splashdown off California set for the following morning, NASA said.

The four crew members are NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. If the schedule holds, Freedom will splash down in the Pacific Ocean at approximately 11:34 a.m. EDT on Thursday, Oct. 8, according to the NASA release.

What NASA Said

NASA's release lays out a precise sequence. Hatch closure coverage was set to begin at 6 a.m. EDT Wednesday, with the hatch itself closing at 6:20 a.m. Undocking coverage was to begin at 7:45 a.m., with undocking at 8:05 a.m. After undocking, NASA planned to provide audio-only communications between the crew, the station, and flight controllers while Freedom made its way clear of the orbital complex.

On Thursday, return coverage was set to begin at 10:20 a.m. EDT. The deorbit burn, which fires the spacecraft's engines to slow it enough to fall out of orbit, was scheduled for 10:46 a.m. Splashdown was set for 11:34 a.m.

NASA said mission managers were continuing to monitor weather conditions in the recovery area. Undocking depends on spacecraft readiness, recovery team readiness, and Pacific weather, among other factors, the agency said. All times are subject to change based on real-time operations.

Live coverage streams on NASA+, the agency's website at nasa.gov/live, and NASA's YouTube and X channels, NASA said.

The Crew and the Mission

Meir and Fedyaev had each flown to space once before this mission, according to accounts of the crew's background. For Hathaway and Adenot, Crew-12 was a first spaceflight.

The quartet launched to the station on Feb. 13, according to Spaceflight Now, which covered the mission's lead-up in detail. Their arrival brought the station back to its normal complement after a period of reduced crew. Crew-11 had departed early, in January, after a medical issue involving one of its astronauts, a situation NASA described at the time as a medical evacuation rather than an emergency return. That was the first time an American-led human spaceflight mission ended early for a medical reason, Spaceflight Now reported.

Crew-12 was originally planned as a roughly nine-month mission, according to Spaceflight Now. The stay stretched a few weeks longer than that after Crew-13, the relief crew, was delayed by a propulsion system issue on its Dragon capsule. Crew-13 arrived at the station on Oct. 1, according to accounts of the handover, and Crew-12's departure followed after a handover period.

During the mission, Adenot stepped outside the station on Aug. 18 and became the first French woman to walk in space, according to accounts of the mission's activities. She completed two more spacewalks after that, including one alongside Meir. Meir performed four spacewalks during the mission, bringing her career total to seven, according to the same accounts.

What Comes Next

At 1:15 p.m. EDT on Thursday, NASA and SpaceX plan to hold a briefing covering the Crew-12 return and previewing the next cargo delivery to the station. Participants listed in the NASA release are Bill Spetch, deputy manager of Commercial at NASA's Low Earth Orbit Program; Dr. Liz Warren, deputy chief scientist of the same program; Lee Echerd, senior mission manager for Customer Operations and Integration at SpaceX; and Andreas Mogensen, leader of the Human Exploration Group at ESA.

That cargo mission, NASA's Commercial Resupply Services-35, is targeted for no earlier than Oct. 13, according to accounts of the briefing's agenda. Media wishing to participate in the teleconference must contact the NASA Johnson newsroom at jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov or 281-483-5111 by noon EDT on Oct. 8, NASA said.

What is not yet confirmed is whether weather in the Pacific recovery zone will allow the schedule to proceed as planned. NASA said managers are watching conditions and that all times remain subject to change.

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