NASA, SpaceX targeting possible Crew-2 return to Earth Monday and Crew-3 launch Wednesday

NASA SpaceX Crew-2 astronauts onboard the International Space Station.

NASA is now targeting a return to Earth for the SpaceX Crew-2 no earlier than 7:14 a.m. EST Monday, Nov. 8, with a splashdown off the coast of Florida. 

The Crew Dragon capsule Endeavour would undock from the International Space Station on Sunday afternoon to begin the journey home.

NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Aki Hoshide, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet will complete 199 days in space at the conclusion of their mission. The spacecraft also will return to Earth with about 530 pounds of hardware and scientific investigations, NASA says.

With Crew-2 splashdown now targeting Monday, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 mission would launch from Kennedy Space Center no earlier than 9:03 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 10.  The Crew Dragon capsule Endurance would dock at the space station around 7:10 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 11.