Editor’s Note: This advisory was updated March 11, 2024, to correct Hiroshi Sasaki’s title, correct the deadline for contacting the KSC Newsroom for information on the Return to Earth media teleconference, and add a SpaceX representative for the teleconference.
NASA will provide live coverage of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-7 return to Earth from the International Space Station, beginning with a change-of-command ceremony at 11:55 a.m. EDT on Sunday, March 10.
NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov are preparing to wrap up their nearly six-month science mission, and bring home time-sensitive research to Earth.
Pending weather conditions off the coast of Florida, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to undock from the space station at 11:05 a.m. Monday, March 11, to begin the journey home, with NASA coverage beginning at 10:45 a.m. NASA and SpaceX are targeting as early as 5:35 a.m. Tuesday, March 12, for splashdown off the Florida coast.
The return and related activities will air live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.
NASA’s coverage is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations):
Sunday, March 10
11:55 a.m.: Crew-7 farewell remarks and change of command ceremony aboard the space station
Monday, March 11
9 a.m.: Hatch closure coverage begins
9:15 a.m.: Hatch closing
10:45 a.m.: Undocking coverage begins
11:05 a.m.: Undocking
Following conclusion of Dragon departure from station, NASA coverage will continue with audio only, with full coverage resuming ahead of the deorbit burn and splashdown.
Tuesday, March 12
4:30 a.m.: Coverage begins as the spacecraft leaves low Earth orbit, completes re-entry, and prepares for splashdown
5:35 a.m.: Splashdown
7 a.m.: Return to Earth media teleconference call with the following participants:
- Steve Stich, manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program
- Jeff Arend, manager for systems engineering and integration, NASA’s International Space Station Office
- Benji Reed, senior director for human spaceflight programs, SpaceX
- Eric Van Der Wal, Houston office team leader, ESA
- Hiroshi Sasaki, vice president for human spaceflight and exploration, JAXA
Media may ask questions via phone. For the dial-in number and passcode, media should contact the Kennedy newsroom no later than 4:30 p.m. Monday, March 11, at ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov.
See full mission coverage, NASA’s commercial crew blog, and more information about the mission at:
https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew
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Joshua Finch
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov
Steve Siceloff
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-867-2468
steven.p.sieceloff@nasa.gov
Leah Cheshier
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
leah.d.cheshier@nasa.gov