NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 set to undock Wednesday

Mission managers approved Crew-11's return; Dragon will undock from the Harmony module at 5:05 p.m. EST Wednesday and is scheduled to splash down off the coast of California at 3:41 a.m. Thursday.

NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 is preparing to undock from the International Space Station on Wednesday. Mission managers have cleared the Dragon crew spacecraft for return and set the undocking from the Harmony module's space-facing port for 5:05 p.m. EST. The returning quartet includes NASA astronauts Zena Cardman (commander) and Mike Fincke (pilot), JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov. Weather is reported as favorable for a parachute-assisted splashdown off the coast of California early Thursday. Planned details: - Dragon undocking is scheduled for 5:05 p.m. EST Wednesday from the Harmony module's space-facing port. - A parachute-assisted splashdown is scheduled off the coast of California at 3:41 a.m. Thursday. - Zena Cardman will command and Mike Fincke will pilot Dragon, with Kimiya Yui and Oleg Platonov as mission specialists. - NASA+ will provide live coverage beginning at 3 p.m. EST Wednesday, with additional broadcasts at 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, 2:15 a.m. Thursday for descent, and a post-splashdown news conference at 5:45 a.m.; coverage is also on Amazon Prime and NASA's YouTube channel. - Crew activities before departure included packing cargo, transferring hardware, respirator training, uninstalling and stowing science equipment, and practicing deorbit procedures; three crew members will remain aboard the station after Crew-11 leaves. Summary: Crew-11's planned undocking and re-entry will return four crewmembers to Earth while three others remain on the International Space Station to continue Expedition 74 operations. NASA's live broadcasts will cover the crew's entry into Dragon, undocking, descent, and the post-splashdown news conference as the sequence unfolds.