Splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the southern coast of California is scheduled for Tuesday at around 11:30 a.m. Polish time.
“Dragon and the Axiom Space Ax-4 crew are on track to reenter Earth’s atmosphere and splash down off the coast of San Diego at 2:31 a.m. PT,” SpaceX confirmed.
“Dragon will also announce its arrival with a brief sonic boom prior to splashing down in the Pacific Ocean,” the statement added.
The spacecraft will perform a series of departure burns to gradually distance itself from the International Space Station before reentering Earth’s atmosphere. Splashdown off the coast of California is expected about 22 and a half hours later.
At an altitude of roughly 6 kilometres, two drogue parachutes will deploy to stabilise the capsule, followed by four main parachutes opening around 2 kilometres above the ocean.
After splashdown, SpaceX’s recovery vessel will lift the Dragon capsule from the water. The crew will then be flown by helicopter to the space centre in Houston, where Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski is due to spend about two hours.
From Houston, he will travel by a dedicated aircraft to Cologne, Germany, to the European Astronaut Centre. There, under medical supervision, he will remain in a week-long quarantine.
"On the way back home" were the final words shared by Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski on his X profile before returning to Earth.
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Source: Axiom Space/Space X/POLSA/X/@astro_slawosz