NASA astronaut shares SpaceX Dragon Undocking video from space station

SpaceX's Dragon cargo capsule undocked from the ISS on December 16, 2024, and headed to earth with 2700 kg of waste

NASA astronaut Don Pettit shared a video on X (Twitter) showing SpaceX's Dragon cargo capsule undocking from the International Space Station (ISS) on December 16, 2024, at 11:05 am EST.

 

After the undocking process, the spacecraft headed towards Earth with loads of cargo. The spacecraft left the Harmony module at 9:35 pm IST and began deorbit burns to conclude the Spacex’s 31st commercial resupply services mission (CRS-31) for NASA, splashing down off the coast of Florida.

 

Pettit shared a video on X (formerly known as Twitter) with a caption that reads, "Dragon cargo number 31 undocked yesterday and returned to planet Earth carrying the spoils from our research."

Pettit flew to space on September 11 on Russia's Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft with cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner. He has been actively photographing the planet from space and recently shared a stunning video of the Dragon spacecraft at the station with the Milky Way galaxy in the background.

 

He shared a post a few days back when the station entered the 'Twilight Zone.' While sharing the post, he wrote a caption that reads, "Living in the Twilight Zone. Our orbit on @Space_Station now is aligned with Earth’s day-night shadow; thus, we see neither full day nor full night. This is the best time to photograph clouds under low-angle lighting."

 

 

The spacecraft carries over 2,700 kg of crew supplies, science investigations, and equipment that astronauts packed on the station, and it is on its way to Earth.

 

NASA confirmed that the splashdown of the spacecraft will not be live-streamed; however, the space agency will share updates on its official blog. The returning Dragon capsule was launched on November 4 on a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and arrived at the station a day later as part of SpaceX's 31st commercial resupply services mission.

 

The undocking mission was originally supposed to take place on December 6, 2024, but bad weather pushed it back repeatedly.

 

Currently, Dragon is the only spacecraft capable of returning equipment and experiments safely to Earth. The other two operational freighters, i.e., Northrop Grumman's Cygnus spacecraft and Russia's Progress capsule, face a fiery atmospheric incineration, burning up during reentry.