SpaceX's Dragon cargo capsule successfully undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) on December 16, 2024, at 11:05 a.m. EST (1605 GMT), marking the completion of its 31st commercial resupply services mission (CRS-31) for NASA. The spacecraft is scheduled to splash down off the coast of Florida on December 17, 2024, although NASA will not webcast the event, opting instead to provide updates via its ISS blog.
The CRS-31 mission is significant as it returns thousands of pounds of equipment and experiment specimens from ongoing microgravity research aboard the ISS. Currently, Dragon is the only cargo spacecraft capable of safely returning items to Earth, while other operational freighters, such as Northrop Grumman's Cygnus and Russia's Progress, incinerate their cargo during reentry.
Launched on November 4 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the Dragon capsule delivered approximately 6,000 pounds (2,700 kilograms) of science and supplies to the ISS for the Expedition 71 crew. Among the astronauts on board are NASA's Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who were initially scheduled for an eight-day mission aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft but faced complications that extended their stay to eight months.
CRS-31 delivered essential supplies, including fresh food, research equipment, and personal items for the astronauts. Following the splashdown, NASA plans to quickly retrieve the Dragon capsule to facilitate the immediate analysis of experiments that require prompt attention after atmospheric reentry. These experiments will be moved to NASA's Systems Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center for continued research.
Originally, the undocking was slated for December 6 but was postponed due to adverse weather conditions in the splashdown area.