Crew Dragon Endeavour blazed over Central Florida just after midnight, putting on a show for thousands and thousands below because it headed towards a splashdown off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida.
After undocking from the International Space Station at 7:05 a.m. ET (11:05 UTC) Sunday, September third, the capsule began firing its Draco thrusters in small bursts to maneuver safely away. Crew Dragon performed a series of small departure burns to depart the “keep out sphere” that’s across the Space Station.
Undocking confirmed! Now in orbital nighttime, #Crew6 are on the best way home of their @SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft.
Reentry and splashdown coverage begins at 11pm ET tonight (0300 UTC Sept. 3)—tune in to observe here and at https://t.co/z1RgZwQkWS. pic.twitter.com/pS6fRu687a
— NASA (@NASA) September 3, 2023
Over the subsequent few hours after leaving the Space Station, Crew 6 began preparing for the fiery re-entry through Earth’s atmosphere. The trunk, which provides power to the Capsule, was jettisoned shortly, followed by the de-orbit burn. This burn lasted 16 minutes and slowed the capsule down from its orbital velocity, allowing the spacecraft to start its journey home.
The entry interface began while traveling over Southern Mexico, with plasma constructing across the capsule from the friction created during entry. Endeavour continued on, passing over the West coast of Florida and crossing over the state near Jacksonville. The splashdown site was a few hundred miles off of the coast where the drogue chutes deployed, followed by the 4 important parachutes, which slowed the capsule right down to ~15 miles per hour.
Splashdown of Dragon confirmed – welcome back to Earth, Steve, @Astro_Woody, Andrey, and @Astro_Alneyadi! pic.twitter.com/ph27m0wP30
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 4, 2023
SpaceX’s fast boats then moved in to clear the parachutes, check for any leaks from the Draco fuel system, and fix the recovery harness that’s used to hoist the capsule out of the water. It took roughly an hour from splashdown to crew exit from Endeavour. Crew 6 was then given a fast medical check before they boarded a helicopter for a ride back to Jacksonville after which a brief flight to Houston.
Crew 6 consisted of NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg, United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. They accomplished 2,976 orbits around Earth, accumulating over 78 million miles during their 185 days in space.
Crew Dragon Endeavour accomplished its 4th flight to the ISS, and it’s going to now be brought back to Port Canaveral ahead of refurbishment and task of its next mission to the Space Station. Crew Dragon capsules are currently rated for five missions, but SpaceX and NASA are taking a look at extending those to fifteen. The subsequent mission for Endeavour shall be Crew 8 in 2024.