SpaceX Cargo Dragon Departs the International Space Station, Will Splashdown Off Coast of Florida

By  //  April 15, 2023

NASA will not broadcast the splashdown

A SpaceX cargo Dragon undocked from the International Space Station at 11:05 a.m. EDT on April 15, 2023, as the station was flying over the Indian Ocean. It will return nearly 4,300 pounds of scientific samples and hardware for NASA. (NASA Image)

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Following commands from ground controllers at SpaceX in Hawthorne, California, Dragon undocked at 11:05 a.m. from the forward port of the station’s Harmony module.

At the time of undocking the station was flying over the Indian Ocean.

After re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, the spacecraft will make a parachute-assisted splashdown off the coast of Florida on Saturday, April 15. NASA will not broadcast the splashdown, but updates will be posted on the agency’s space station blog.

Dragon arrived at the space station March 16 as SpaceX’s 27th Commercial Resupply Services mission for NASA, delivering more than 6,000 pounds of research investigations, crew supplies, and station hardware.

It was launched March 14 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy.