Skip to main content

How to watch SpaceX Crew-3 depart the space station tonight

NASA Live: Official Stream of NASA TV

SpaceX’s Crew-3 astronauts are set to depart the International Space Station (ISS) tonight after a six-month stay aboard the orbital laboratory.

Recommended Videos

NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, and Kayla Barron, together with Matthias Maurer of the European Space Agency (ESA), arrived at the ISS in November 2021.

The four astronauts heading to the space station in October 2021.
From left Matthias Maurer, Tom Marshburn, Raja Chari, and Kayla Barron. SpaceX

The crewmembers have spent their time in space performing scientific research in microgravity conditions, conducting spacewalks outside the station, sharing their experiences of space with folks on the ground, and enjoying the gorgeous scenery afforded by their unique location 250 miles above Earth. They even found time for a spot of “dancing.”

But now, it’s time to come home.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

What to expect

The livestream will show the hatch closure and the Crew-3 astronauts preparing to undock from the ISS. It’ll also show the Crew Dragon capsule edging away from the station as the astronauts begin their journey home. Audio feeds between the crew and Mission Control will also form part of the coverage, enabling viewers to follow exactly what’s going on.

Around 23 hours after undocking, the livestream will show the final moments of the voyage home. The Crew Dragon’s descent will be slowed by parachutes before it splashes down in the sea off the coast of Florida. A boat-based recovery team will then bring the capsule back to shore after which the astronauts will be able to breathe fresh air for the first time in half a year.

How to watch

The Crew Dragon capsule is expected to undock from the ISS at 1:05 a.m. ET on Thursday, May 5 (10:05 p.m. PT, Wednesday).

NASA’s livestream of the night’s events will start at 11 p.m. ET (8 p.m. PT) on Wednesday evening.

You can watch via the player embedded at the top of this page or by heading to NASA’s website, which will carry the same livestream.

NASA will also cover the splashdown, which is expected to take place off the coast of Florida at 12:43 a.m. on Friday, May 6 (9:43 p.m. PT, Thursday).

For more on how astronauts live and work aboard the International Space Station, check out these insightful videos made by visitors over the years.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
SpaceX won’t be launching its big Starship test flight today after all
SpaceX's Super Heavy booster on the launchpad ahead of the Starship's seventh test flight.

Space watchers had been gearing up for an exciting evening tonight as SpaceX was set to launch its mighty Starship on its seventh test flight to date. The hope was to launch the massive rocket and have it deploy a payload for the first time, as well as facing the daunting challenge of trying to catch the rocket's Super Heavy Booster at the launch tower in Boca Chica, Texas.

However, now the test flight has been pushed back by one day due to weather conditions. The launch had been scheduled for tonight, Wednesday January 15, but SpaceX announced it would delay the flight until 5 p.m. ET on Thursday, January 16 with a 60-minute launch window. Though rockets can typically handle some adverse weather conditions such as winds and rain, high winds or the possibility of lightning strikes could cause problems for delicate electronics, so launches generally wait for clear conditions.

Read more
Will SpaceX’s Starship be able to repeat this awesome feat on Wednesday?
SpaceX's Super Heavy booster being caught by the launch tower for the first time.

SpaceX is gearing up for the seventh test flight of the Starship, the most powerful rocket ever to launch.

At the current time, the Elon Musk-led spaceflight company is targeting liftoff for the afternoon of Wednesday, January 15.

Read more
SpaceX delays seventh launch of Starship megarocket
The world's most powerful rocket on the launchpad.

SpaceX is delaying the seventh launch of its Starship megarocket by 48 hours.

The Elon Musk-led spaceflight company dropped news of the delay on X, but declined to share a reason. It could be down to poor weather conditions, or perhaps a technical issue that needs to be resolved prior to liftoff.

Read more