--- title: Watch SpaceX Dragon Depart ISS | TIME description: Undocking of the SpaceX Dragon cargo vessel from the International Space Station at 6:45am EDT Thursday, May 21, 2015. canonical: https://time.com/video/FsPwO9WP/ og:title: Watch SpaceX Dragon Depart ISS og:description: Undocking of the SpaceX Dragon cargo vessel from the International Space Station at 6:45am EDT Thursday, May 21, 2015. og:url: https://time.com/video/FsPwO9WP/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/FsPwO9WP/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch SpaceX Dragon Depart ISS twitter:description: Undocking of the SpaceX Dragon cargo vessel from the International Space Station at 6:45am EDT Thursday, May 21, 2015. twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/FsPwO9WP/poster.jpg?width=720 --- # Watch SpaceX Dragon Depart ISS > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: Watch SpaceX Dragon Depart ISS [Watch (HLS stream): Watch SpaceX Dragon Depart ISS](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/FsPwO9WP.m3u8) (41:30)  _Published 2015-05-21. Undocking of the SpaceX Dragon cargo vessel from the International Space Station at 6:45am EDT Thursday, May 21, 2015._ --- Jul 27, 2023 6:17 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [Inside the SpaceX Crew Dragon: Here's How the Inspiration4 Crew Will Fly to Space](/video/boxv34WE/) ### Inside the SpaceX Crew Dragon: Here's How the Inspiration4 Crew Will Fly to Space [Know Right Now: SpaceX Cargo Rocket Explodes](/video/mvN9pOZo/) ### Know Right Now: SpaceX Cargo Rocket Explodes [Liftoff of SpaceX CRS-5](/video/CL5l1Kmi/) ### Liftoff of SpaceX CRS-5 --- ## Transcript Good Thursday morning from the mission control center here in Houston. A team of flight controllers here, in Houston, are watching over all of their systems and greatly anticipating the departure, shortly, of a cargo vehicle that has been docked at the International Space Station for about a month now. You're looking live at the Dragon Cargo vehicle on the end of the station's robotic arm under command of crew members aboard the International Space Station. Specifically, Scott Kelley at this point. After the dragon on the end of the robotic arm has been maneuvered to the release position, it is carrying about 31 hundred pounds of cargo aboard that spacecraft. And the trunk that you see that will guide it into an Earth orbit return here later this morning after release. All systems are go aboard the Dragon. Just moments ago the Space X mission director Jason Tenenbaum reported Back that all systems are go. The Dragon is in free drift and ready for departure from the Station. Some key times that have occurred earlier this morning. The Dragon was unbirthed by robotics officer here in Mission Control while the crew Handled other tasks and preparation for the departure at 4: 19 this morning. It was reported in the release position that you see here at 5: 20. And again reported in free drift, meaning all of its thrusters are inhibited so that they do not fire during the release sequence from that Canadarm2. That Dragon free drift report came at 5: 37 just about 10 minutes ago. 3 years ago this month on May 22nd, 2012 the first space [ UNKNOWN ] dragon cargo vehicle flew to the international space station as the first mission under the commercial orbital transportation system program or COTS. Today, the 2nd dragon Sixth under the formal commercial resupply services contract is poised for return home after 34 days berth to the station and 37 days in space. The Dragon launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket back on April 14th, in the late afternoon and arrived at the station was grappled and birthed on April 17th and then of course that all led to today's activities with the Dragon. Carefully loaded with all of the return hardware that will be returned to Earth. Quite a number of scientific samples are part of that Dragon cargo that will be returning today to a splash down in the Pacific. Yesterday in preparation for the dragon's hatch closure and departure today the final stowage. Activities occurred as the crew members removed what's known as the very cold samples that are in the high tech minus 80 degrees laboratory freezer for The ISS known as Melphi. You see crew members commander Terry Vertz of expedition 43 and flight engineer Scott Kelley working in tandem to Remove these samples, put them in what's known as a double cold storage bag. That container then transferred over to the Dragon, ahead of the hatch closure. The hatch was actually closed on Wednesday morning. After all of that final equipment was loaded aboard hatch closure came at 7: 27 Wednesday morning. [ INAUDIBLE ] And that set the stage for the other activities prior to where we are this morning. And that was the Vestibule check out depressurization and of course the actual unbirthing from the Harmony module's earth- facing port, the Nader port on that module of the international space station. We have a clock here in Houston Mission Control Center. The team here is watching over all of the systems, not only aboard the station, but of courser the Dragon release which is counting Down to occur at 6: 04 this morning central time, and everything is on schedule for release on time here in just about 13 minutes. Overseeing the flight control team here in Houston is veteran flight director Gary Horlacher. He is in the blue shirt, standing, that you see there. Next to him is astronaut David Saint- Jacques from the Canadian Space Agency. You may hear him serving as the communications link between control centers here in Houston. Flag controllers and the crew aboard the International Space Station. The six crew members that make up Expedition 43 have already mentioned Terry Virts the commander, and Scott Kelly as one of the flight engineers. Of course the other Crew members aboard the station that make up the rest of that crew. You see them here. They're official portrait. Anton Shkaplerov and Samantha Cristoforetti are joining Terry Virts. They have been a Combined three- person crew aboard the station, now for 179 days. They are planning right now to return home in June. They launched to the station back on November The 23rd of last year. The other three crew members are enjoying their 55th day in space. That is Gennady Padalka, Mikhail Korniyenko, and of course, Scott Kelly. Kelly and Korniyenko are expected to be at the station through next March. So serving for almost a year aboard the International Space Station. They will transition across several expedition crews but right now the combined six crew members are known as Expedition 43. Flight director Gary Horlacher talking to space SpaceX mission director Jason Tenenbaum. They are conferring about a go. Both sides of the SpaceX flight control team that you see in a unique facility in Hawthorne, California, the suburbs of Los Angeles. The spaceX Mission Control Center there also is part of the overall sprawling complex that makes up part of the assembly factory for All of the space exploration technologies components including the Falcon Nine rocket and the Dragon spacecraft itself. Also of course under development out there is the Space X Crew dragon which the company is working on under contract to the commercial crew program for eventual crew transport to the international space station as a part of that contract along with Boeing which is working on a crew vehicle as well known as the CST 100. So all of the flight control teams in Houston and there in Hawthorne, California have given the go. So we're standing by for the release of Dragon, coming up in just under ten minutes from now. Currently, with dragon still aboard the station, the complex has a mass in space of a little more than 910 thousand pounds or 413 thousand kilograms. After the dragon Release coming up in just a few minutes. The station will drop down to a massive state of a little more than 892, 000 pounds or 404, 000 kilograms. The team in Houston that monitors the mass of the vehicles constantly so the mass of the station actually changes fairly often but hovers routinely around the 900, 000 pound. The Dragon, when it was launched, it weighed 19, 530 pounds. Of course that included all of it's propellant and all of the cargo that the Dragon delivered to the international space station. The return mass today is Weighs in at just about 3100 pounds of precious cargo that's being returned to Earth. The timeline after release The dragon will perform a couple of departure burns shortly after the release. About one minute for departure burn one and then another minute and a half later for departure burn two. That will put it on a trajectory to reach a point about 100 meters from the station or about 328 feet. Roughly about five minutes after release from the robotic arm under control of Scott Kelly operating a robotic workstation up in the Cupola module of the International Space Station. The Dragon's expected to reach a range of about 150 meters. About 11 minutes after the hour. That's about 492 feet and then it will be reoriented for a third departure burn, departure burn 3, targeted for about 14 minutes after the hour. And that will set the Dragon on course to exit what's known as the imaginary keep out sphere around the station at about release plus 10 minutes, or about 14 minutes after the hour. And then exit the approach ellipsoid about 19 and a half minutes after the hour release, plus 15 minutes. And that's the point, typically, where you'll hear some calls that essentially release the station from the obligation of the Dragon and hand it officially back to the SpaceX Dragon team there in Hawthorne, California for the remainder of. The spacecraft's flight which will end with a deorbit burn a little bit later this morning. Currently targeted for just before 11 AM central with targeted splashdown about 11: 42. This morning Central time. That'd be 9: 42 on the West coast. The targeted splash down zone is about 155 miles Southwest of Long Beach, California. And upon splashdown, of course recovery forces are in place to essentially capture the dragon and return it to port. That's all expected to take about 22 hours or so after the splashdown occurs. Course with a targeted landing time, or splashdown time of 9: 42 in the morning West Coast time. That gets plenty of daylight opportunity for those teams to retrieve the Dragon and. And bring it back into port. The weather forecast as of the last Mission Management Team meeting where that was reported as part of the routine status on the Dragon's departure shows that Weather will be in pretty good shape with some waves reported in the four to six foot range, plenty within parameters to safely recover the dragon. We're under five minutes now from the point where dragon will be released. The station, as you can probably tell, is just moving into an orbital sunset. You're still seeing evidence of the sun Reflecting off of the Dragon spacecraft as the station tracks toward the southwestern, southern southwestern, southeastern tip of Australia as it begins a northeasterly track. That will take it on a long trip across the Pacific ocean. From this vantage point, two vehicles are about 260 miles above the Earth. Circling the earth about every 92 minutes. That's the orbital period, meaning the time it takes the station to circle the earth, offering a sunset and sunrise to the crew on board about every 45 minutes. And if you're just joining us you're looking at the Dragon spacecraft on the end of the Canadian supplied robotic arm aboard the International Space Station. Scott Kelly at a robotic works station inside the station's coupler module. Ready to release the dragon for its return to Earth after 34 days berthed at the International Space Station, the release scheduled for 3 minutes from now. Coming up on two minutes to release all still go. The Dragon and its trunk as it's known, the lower part of the actual space craft is about 23 feet long. And, as I mentioned earlier, wade at launch, this combination about 19, 530 pounds. It was launched on April 14th. In the mid afternoon U. S Central time, 3: 10 pm to be exact, and arrived at the station was grappled and later birthed at about 8: 30 in the morning on Friday April 17th. And there of course the hatches were opened, cargo was delivered to the station unloaded. And since then, the dragon has been reloaded with The cargo to return home. The last of which, as you saw earlier, was some of the late stow equipment, that's loaded down the center of that Dragon cargo capacity, before the hatches were closed, and the unberthing sequence took place earlier this morning. Unberthing at 4: 19 this morning. In release position at 5: 20. Dragon was in free drift with its thrusters inhibited at 5: 37. And now, just about a minute from now, will be released for its trip home that will take about six hours or so before its deorbit burn and splashdown In the Pacific, off the coast of Long Beach. And we're standing by for the release of the snares on the robotic arm's end effector, setting Dragon free for its return home. All right on time, robotics officer is reporting the trigger has been released, the snares have been opened. And the release has been confirmed, right on time, at 6: 04 am central time. And the candid arm to under Their control of Scott Kelly now, carefully backing away from the space craft. This view looking right down the end of the latching end effector of that arm, at the grapple pin, located on the dragon. The release of the dragon occurring with the two space craft about 250 miles up, just off the southern coast of Australia, beginning a north easterly track across the eastern side of the continent The first in the series of departure burns is armed aboard the Dragon. And you see the small thrusters pulsing there very quickly, signalling the first of the departure burns that will take Dragon safely away from the International Space Station. You send Dragon. The part is commanded. You're go to re- enable thrusters. Copy that. Thanks. And thrusters are re- enabled. A station attitude control is now back under station thrusters, and the station's solar Arrays via their solar alpha rotary joints were locked about three hours ago. Those will be put back into their auto track sequence about 7: 50 this morning. All of those are standard procedures for visiting vehicle arrivals and departures. And you see the Dragon thrusters pulsing once again that signals departure burn two. As the spacecraft continues to back away from the International Space Station. Station on two for Dragon depart. Heads up, departure burn two. One entry now are complete. Departure burn three in about seven minutes, seven and a half minutes. And you're a go to save the arm for step five and [ INAUDIBLE ] three two zero. Okay, the arm is safe and it's all ready and step five is complete. Roger. Canadian Space Agency astronaut David Saint- Jacques providing updates to the crew. Specifically to Scott Kelly aboard the station as he can now begin the safing procedure of the robotic arm of the station, having completed its job. For the day. Maneuvering the Dragon to the release position, which was under control of the ground team here, in mission control, the robotics officers and Scott Kelly handled it from there, in terms of the release. Dragon, back on it's own, slowly moving away from the station. And, shortly we'll get distance reports, expected to be In a range of about 100 meters by now, about 328 feet away from the station. The next departure burn, as you heard Sam Saint- Jacques report is coming up now in just about five and a half minutes. That's the targeted time for the third in the series of departure burns conducted by thrusters on the outside of the Dragon spacecraft. We're just under four minutes until departure burned 3. That will increase fairly rapidly the departure Distance from the station as it approaches the, exiting the, what's known as the, keep out sphere that's, should be coming up in the next couple of minutes. This entire Dragon mission cargo flight to the international space station. The sixth flight under the formal Commercial Resupply Services contract and the seventh Dragon visit to the station overall. Prior to departure burn number three. is a yah manuever of the dragon which has just begun, that is to position it properly for that departure burn which will occur about a little more than a minute from now A visiting vehicle officer here in mission control reports the Dragon is outside the 150 meter point about 492 feet from the station so all is Set and team standing by for the report on departure burn three here in about 30 seconds. And departure burn three is underway, And now reported complete and nominal. The next report from The visiting vehicle officer, which was just now reported to flight director Gary Horlocker. His Dragon now is outside the imaginary keep out sphere. Go ahead Johnny. All right, Scott. So departure burn three is complete and Dragon is now outside the keep out sphere. Copy, thank you. We're standing by for one more call that signals the Dragon has exited the approach ellipsoid. And at that point that would signal essentially the job completed with Dragon at the International Space Station showing it carefully and safely out of the region of the station and of course back on its own for the rest of its mission. That will include a deorbit burn later this morning with a Splash down parachute assisted splash down in the Pacific. Station on two for dragon depart. [ INAUDIBLE ] All right, Timmy, so good news, Dragon is now outside the approach and looks good. And on a safe 24 hour free drift to victory. Excellent, thanks, and good work. Good work from you guys. And it was flawless. And it was a great vehicle. We appreciated all the cargo, and we're looking forward to seeing the scientific experiments and equipment make it back to Earth here in a few hours. Yep, we're all looking forward to that. And I think you got the data for when that's gonna happen, but in a couple hours from now, about five hours from now. Okay, [ UNKNOWN ] hopefully we can see that, but it sounds like it's gonna be tough to see, though. Yeah, I think so, too. So expedition 43 commander, Terri Bird's aboard the international space station congratulating the entire team, both NASA and space x on a On a great cargo mission for the dragon spacecraft. It's now safely outside what's known as the ellipsoid. That put's it on the proper trajectory that will lead to a [ COUGH ] deorbit burn Scheduled to occur. About 10: 49 this morning Central as Gary Horlacker congratulates his counterpart Jason Tannebaum, the SpaceX mission director, and his team. And the, again the Dragon will breathe fire in the form of it's deorbit burn at 10: 49 this morning. And that will lead to the trunk separation about 29 minutes later. The drug shoot will be deployed. About 90 seconds after the trunk separates, and then that will pull out the main parachutes, which will assist with that safe splashdown in the Pacific, about 155 miles to the southwest of Long Beach, California. So again the cargo mission of the SpaceX Dragon is completed as far as the station is concerned. That precious cargo on its way home and scheduled for return to Earth via splashdown in the Pacific a little bit later this morning, targeted for 11: 42 AM Central Time. The next cargo visit of Space X Dragon is currently targeted for late June. Right now the target is around Friday June 26th. And that will be obviously a similar mission of that cargo vehicle, as part of the commercial resupply services contract. A very smooth morning with the Dragon departure, and now the crew will settle in for the rest of its day. And we will Turn the coverage back over to NASA TV but be sure to tune back in here in mission control for our daily space station live program coming up at 10: 00 Central, 11: 00 One o'clock Eastern Time. Have a great day. 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