RoundupReads How to Watch: SpaceX Undocking, Splashdown

How to Watch: SpaceX Undocking, Splashdown

2019-03-06

SpaceX’s inaugural flight with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program wraps up March 8—and you can watch as history unfolds.

Tomorrow, the hatch to Crew Dragon will be battened down for its voyage back to Earth. The vehicle remains docked to the International Space Station, awaiting undocking early Friday to begin a descent—straight into the Atlantic Ocean—for splashdown.

Tune in as it all happens live on NASA TV or the agency’s website.

NASA TV coverage is as follows (all times CST):

Thursday, March 7

11:15 a.m. – Coverage of the hatch closure of the SpaceX/Crew Dragon spacecraft at the space station; hatch closure is scheduled for 11:25 a.m. 

Friday, March 8
1 a.m. – Coverage of the undocking of the SpaceX/Crew Dragon Spacecraft from the space station; undocking scheduled at 1:31 a.m.  
6:30 a.m. – Coverage of the deorbit burn and splashdown of the SpaceX/Crew Dragon to complete Demonstration Mission-1. Deorbit burn is scheduled at 6:50 a.m.; splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean scheduled at 7:45 a.m. 

If you're on-site, view the SpaceX events on JSC Cable TV channel 4-1. JSC team members with wired computer network connections can watch using the JSC EZTV IP Network TV System on channel 4541 (HD). Please note: EZTV currently requires using Internet Explorer on a Windows PC or Safari on a Mac. Mobile devices, Wi-Fi, VPN or connections from other centers are currently not supported by EZTV. Questions? Visit the FAQ site. 

Additional spacecraft mission objectives include a safe departure from the station, followed by a deorbit burn and parachute deployment to slow the spacecraft before splashdown off the Florida Space Coast. SpaceX’s recovery ship, Go Searcher, will retrieve Crew Dragon and transport it back to port. Teams will closely monitor the parachute system and entry control system operation, which have been changed from cargo Dragons to provide higher reliability for crew flights.

 

GO Searcher is equipped with a crane to lift the capsule out of the water and onto the main deck of the ship. NASA and SpaceX doctors will work together to evaluate the crew aboard the vessel. Image Credit: SpaceX


KNOWN AS DEMO-1, this uncrewed mission is an important test of the capabilities of this new system and brings the United States ever closer to the return of human launches to the space station from American soil for the first time since 2011.

“We are watching history being made with the launch of the SpaceX Demo-1 mission,” said Steve Stich, launch manager and deputy manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. “SpaceX and NASA teams have been working together for years, and now we are side-by-side in control rooms across the country for launch, in-orbit operations and, eventually, splashdown of the Crew Dragon right here off Florida’s coast.”

NASA and SpaceX will use data from Demo-1, along with planned upgrades and additional qualification testing, to further prepare for Demo-2, the crewed flight test that will carry NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station. NASA will validate the performance of SpaceX’s systems before putting crew on board for the Demo-2 flight, which is currently targeted for July.

Learn more about NASA’s Commercial Crew program at: https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew


Recently, SpaceX completed helicopter landing and patient loading rehearsals on GO Searcher, practicing how the helicopter will pick up astronauts and fly them to a nearby hospital. Image Credit: SpaceX