CREW-1 RETURN TO EARTH, May 1-2, 2021, undock 8:35 pm ET May 1, splashdown 2:57 am ET May 2

Update, April 30, 3:00 pm ET:  The new schedule is for the crew to undock tomorrow night (May 1) and splashdown at 2:57 am ET Sunday morning (May 2) in the Gulf of Mexico south of Panama City, FL.  This will be the first nighttime water landing since the Apollo 8 mission in 1968.  NASA TV will provide continuous coverage from undocking to splashdown.

Saturday, May 1

6 p.m. – NASA TV coverage begins for 6:20 p.m. hatch closure

8:15 p.m. – NASA TV coverage begins for 8:35 p.m. undocking

Sunday, May 2

2:57 a.m. (approx.) – Splashdown (NASA TV will provide continuous coverage from undocking to splashdown)

5 a.m. – Return to Earth news conference at NASA’s Johnson Space Center

Update, April 30: Weather (high winds) continues to be a problem. Undocking will not occur today or splashdown tomorrow.  NASA and SpaceX will meet later today to assess their options and set a new date.

Update, April 26:  Crew-1’s undocking and splashdown has been postponed due to poor weather on April 28.  The new schedule is:

• Hatch closure, April 30, 3:50 pm ET (NASA TV begins 3:30 pm ET)
• Undock, April 30, 5:55 pm ET (NASA TV begins 5:30 pm ET and continues through splashdown)
• Splashdown, May 1, 11:36 am ET

A post-splashdown news conference is at 1:30 pm ET on May 1.

Original Entry: NASA and Space X plan to return the Crew-1 crew to Earth on April 28, 2021.  They arrived on the International Space Station (ISS) on November 15, 2020.

Crew Dragon Resilience will undock from ISS at 7:05 am ET and splash down in the Atlantic Ocean off the Florida coast at 12:40 pm ET.

The four crew members are:

• Michael Hopkins (NASA)
• Victor Glover (NASA)
• Shannon Walker (NASA)
• Soichi Noguchi (JAXA)

NASA TV coverage begins at 4:45 am ET for hatch closure at 5:00 am ET, and resumes at 6:45 am ET for undocking at 7:05 am ET.  Coverage will continue through splashdown at 12:30.  A press conference will follow at 2:30 pm ET.