![CRS-28 Dragon seen as it arrived at the International Space Station June 6, 2023. Credit: NASA](https://www.spaceflightinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/52996460067_5671b2980c_o.jpg)
CRS-28 Dragon seen because it arrived on the International Space Station June 6, 2023. Credit: NASA
SpaceX’s CRS-28 cargo Dragon spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station after spending just over three weeks on the outpost.
Undocking of the uncrewed cargo spacecraft took place at 12:30 p.m. EDT (16:30 UTC) June 29. During the last couple weeks it was loaded with some 3,600 kilos (1,600 kilograms) of cargo to be returned to the bottom. NASA said this includes critical research samples positioned inside Dragon’s science freezers.
After backing away from the ISS, the spacecraft began a trajectory that may bring it back to Earth Friday morning, June 30. Following reentry into the atmosphere, the spacecraft will perform a parachute assisted splashdown off the coast of Florida.
It’ll then be picked up by SpaceX recovery ships and transported back to Kennedy Space Center in Florida for time-critical experiments to be offloaded.
The spacecraft launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket on June 5 with about 7,000 kilos (3,200 kilograms) of crew supplies, experiments and station hardware. It docked with the space-facing port of the Harmony module a day later.
![The iROSA device being unrolled after its installation was completed. Credit: NASA](https://www.spaceflightinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Fyrk5ITWABAMB_D.jpg)
The iROSA device being unrolled after its installation was accomplished. Credit: NASA
Over the subsequent couple weeks, its contents were unloaded by the seven-person Expedition 69 crew. Furthermore, two ISS Roll Out Solar Arrays, iROSAs, were also faraway from the unpressurized trunk section.
During two spacewalks on June 9 and June 15, NASA astronauts Woody Hoburg and Steve Bowen installed the solar arrays, which is an element of a yearslong effort to upgrade the outposts power system.
These were the fifth and sixth iROSAs installed since 2021. A seventh and eighth have been approved to be built by Redwire Space and launched by SpaceX in 2025
CRS-28 was the eighth performed under the second Business Resupply Services contract with the Dragon 2 cargo spacecraft. It was also the fourth time this specific capsule had visited the ISS.
SpaceX’s next Dragon launch is about to be the Crew-7 mission in August. It’ll transport 4 people to the space station to interchange the Crew-6 astronauts and cosmonaut. Like Crew-6, Crew-7 will spend about six months on the outpost.
The subsequent cargo variant Dragon is anticipated no sooner than December of this 12 months.