After three days on-orbit, Dragon and the Inspiration4 crew – the world’s first all-civilian mission to orbit – will return to Earth on September 18, splashing down at approximately 7:06 p.m. EDT in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida.
SpaceX’s webcast for return of Dragon and the Inspiration4 crew will go live about 1 hour before splashdown.
The Inspiration4 mission is part of Jared’s ambitious fundraising goal to give hope to all kids with cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Visit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital to learn how you can help the Inspiration4 crew reach their $200M fundraising goal.
During their multi-day journey in orbit, the Inspiration4 crew has been conducting scientific research designed to advance human health on Earth and during future long-duration spaceflights.
Dragon reached its intended target orbit, with altitudes as high as 590 kilometers above the Earth’s surface — flying farther than any human spaceflight since the Hubble missions. Dragon’s new cupola observation dome is the largest contiguous space window ever flown. Designed, tested, and qualified for flight in six months, it replaced the mechanism used on Dragon’s previous flight to autonomously dock to the International Space Station. The three-layer observation dome was put through an extensive qualification process, including thermal, vibration, structural environments, and life-cycle to verify capability.
All times approximate and in Eastern Daylight Time for splashdown on Saturday, September 18
| HR / MIN | Event |
|---|---|
| 5:32 a.m. | Forward hatch close |
| 6:11 p.m. | Trunk jettison |
| 6:16 p.m. | Deorbit burn start |
| 6:31 p.m. | Deorbit burn end |
| 6:35 p.m. | Nosecone closed |
| 7:02 p.m | Drogues parachutes deploy |
| 7:03 p.m. | Main parachutes deploy |
| 7:06 p.m. | Dragon splashdown |
