Watch: Departure sequence begins for earth reentry

The spacecraft will now begin a series of departure burns to move away from the space station. Dragon will reenter the Earth’s atmosphere and splash down in approximately 17 hours.

Crew removes spacesuits, sets sights on splashdown

The crew is currently doffing their spacesuits to settle in for the flight home. They are expected to fly for 17 hours and splash down off the coast of Florida at 8:17am GST. 

Astronaut Steve Bowen thanks everyone aboard

From inside the Dragon, Steve Bowen thanked everyone aboard the ISS for the successful separation and exit of the keep-out sphere. He also congratulated them on their hard work and dedication.

Watch: Dragon departs from the space station

Dragon successfully undocks from ISS

Depart burns are complete and the Dragon has successfully undocked from the International Space Station. The lights that we see moving on screen is the Dragon itself. The red and green represent the port and the starboard side. The white light in the centre is actually an interior light shining through the forward hatch of the capsule.

See: Crew-6 undocks from space station

The undocking sequence has been commanded. This is a two-part process that involves retracting 12 hooks, 6 in each set. The first set of hooks is currently retracting.

The crew is now ready to undock

The Dragon completed its final configuration and the mission operators are go for the undocking procedures

Look: Minutes before Dragon Endeavour undocks

A view of the Dragon Endeavour minutes before it undocks from the ISS with Crew-6 member aboard. SpaceX expects the Dragon to push away from the station at 3.05pm in the UAE

Watch: Al Neyadi’s SpaceX space gear on Dragon

Highlights of the Dragon spacecraft showing astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi donning on his SpaceX spacesuit.

Meet Al Neyadi’s Crew-6 family

Stephen G. Bowen

A retired US Navy Captain, Bowen was the first Submarine Officer to be selected as an astronaut by NASA. The veteran NASA astronaut is the commander of the Crew-6 Dragon Endeavour during its trips to and from the International Space Station. Bowen has now spent 227 days in total in space. He had logged more than 40 days in space including 47 hours and 18 minutes in seven spacewalks prior to NASA SpaceX Crew-6 mission that lasted for six months. Bowen conducted three more spacewalks during Crew-6, spending 65 hours and 57 minutes working in the vacuum of space across his four career spaceflights. During his eighth Extravehicular Activity (EVA) outside the ISS, Bowen was joined by UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi, who performed the first-ever spacewalk by an Arab.

Warren “Woody” Hoburg:

He was selected by NASA to join the 2017 Astronaut Candidate Class. He reported for duty in August 2017 and having completed the initial astronaut candidate training became eligible for a mission assignment. The Pennsylvania native earned a bachelor’s degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a Doctorate in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley. He was leading a research group at MIT at the time of his selection. He is an instrument-rated commercial pilot in single-engine and multi-engine airplanes. The pilot of NASA SpaceX Crew-6 Dragon Endeavour, Hoburg conducted his first two spacewalks along with Stephen Bowen in less than a week in June. 

Andrey Valerievich Fedyaev

The only Russian cosmonaut in Crew-6, Fedyaev is Russia’s second cosmonaut to set off for the International Space Station on a Crew Dragon mission under the Russia-US cross-flight programme. He served as a mission specialist aboard Endeavour, and a flight engineer for Expedition 69 aboard the space station. Fedyaev also conducted his first spacewalk during the Crew-6 mission.

Crew-6 all set for undocking from the ISS

NASA to resume coverage of undocking of the Dragon at 5:45am Central Time/ 6:45am Eastern Time. NASA said it will be looking for the physical separation of the Dragon spacecraft from the space station at 3:05pm in the UAE.

Hatch closed, Dragon to leave station soon

There are two hatches to be closed. The one on the Dragon was closed at 4:19am and the one on the space station side was closed at 4:28am Central Time (1:19pm and 1:28pm here). The vestibule was then depressurised.

Look: Al Neyadi puts on his spacesuit and helmet

The helmets and the suits for these astronauts are designed by SpaceX and they are custom-fitted for each crew member. All crew members are now suited up for their space flight back to Earth.

Watch: Neyadi prepares to enter the Dragon spacecraft

First view from inside the Dragon ahead of undocking

Commander Stephen Bowen and pilot Woody Hoburg looking at the crew displays inside the Dragon spacecraft in the first visual of the Drgaon ahead of undocking

‘Not a goodbye’

In one of his last social media posts before leaving the International Space Station, UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi  said with a heart filled with gratitude and a spirit of space adventure:

“Space, this is not a goodbye. I will see you later, whether on a new mission to the ISS or a farther destination.”

He also took the opportunity to thank the country and everyone who supported his mission. “I thank my beloved country for turning our dreams into achievements and all of you for your trust and affection. Wish us a safe return. We’ll meet soon.”

Al Neyadi thanks MBRSC team

Hours ahead of his return to Earth, UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi sent a huge thank you message to the team behind the success of his six-month mission aboard the International Space Station.

Historic space mission

It was a big leap for Arab space exploration when UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi blasted off to the International Space Station (ISS) six months ago. Today (September 3, 2023), the 42-year-old father-of-six from Al Ain is set to make his triumphant return to Earth following the longest and most groundbreaking Arab space mission in history that included a historic spacewalk and over 200 scientific experiments.

As he descends from the ISS along with three NASA SpaceX Crew-6 crewmates, Al Neyadi carries with him the dreams and aspirations of an entire region, demonstrating that the stars are no longer beyond reach for the Arab world.

NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than Sunday, September 3 at 3.05pm GST for Dragon Endeavour to autonomously undock from the ISS. After performing a series of departure burns to move away from the space station, the Dragon will conduct multiple orbit-lowering maneuvers, jettison the trunk, and re-enter Earth’s atmosphere for splashdown off the coast of Florida approximately 17 hours later at 8.07am GST on Monday, September 4.

Aboard the spacecraft with Al Neyadi will be Crew-6 NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg and Rocosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev who flew together to the space station when a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the spacecraft from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on Thursday, March 2 at 8.34 am GST.