Watch: NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 undocks from the ISS; Splashdown expected on October 8
On October 7, 2026, NASA’s Crew-12 astronauts successfully left the International Space Station (ISS), and now they are on their way back to the surface. SpaceX’s Dragon capsule pulled away from the station’s Harmony module at 8:05 a.m. EDT on Wednesday. According to NASA, the trip home is expected to take about 27.5 hours, with a splashdown targeted for approximately 11:34 a.m. EDT on October 8, 2026, in the Pacific Ocean off the California coast. NASA’s live coverage will return at 10:20 a.m. EDT on Thursday and run through splashdown.
Watch Dragon depart the @Space_Station and return to Earth with the Crew-12 astronauts https://t.co/tTNJQVdSj9
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 7, 2026
On board were NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. Crew-12 has been relieved by Crew-13 astronauts, who reached the station on October 01, 2026, in under eight hours. This was the quickest trip ever by an American spacecraft.
Expedition 75 vibes. It was an honor and privilege to serve as Commander of the @Space_Station! After welcoming Crew-13 this week to mark the second part of Expedition 75, today I handed over the key to the @Space_Station to my friend and colleague Pyotr Dubrov. This ship is in the best of hands!
— Jessica Meir (@Astro_Jessica) October 4, 2026
“What I’m looking forward to most is seeing my three-and-a-half-year-old daughter,” Meir said during a call with reporters. She added, “I’m so looking forward to seeing nature again, feeling the breeze on my face, the wind rustling through the leaves, experiencing all those things that we don’t have up here. But I will very, very much miss being weightless all the time and the incredible views that we have.”
How much time did the crew spend in space?
According to NASA, by the time they land, the crew will have spent 237 days in space, with 235 of them aboard the station. Additionally, they would have circled Earth a total of 3,792 times and traveled more than 100 million statute miles. Meir has now logged 442 days in space across two flights, the 10th most of any NASA astronaut.
Dragon separation confirmed! https://t.co/0SXhIG8O83
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 7, 2026
Adenot, on her first trip, completed three spacewalks totaling 19 hours and 42 minutes, and her 237 days (once she splashes down) will be the seventh most of any ESA astronaut. Adenot also became the first French woman to perform a spacewalk. Hathaway is also completing his first spaceflight, and he has more than 2,500 flight hours in 30 types of aircraft. On the other hand, Fedyaev flew his second mission and now has 423 days in space. He is also the first Russian cosmonaut to fly twice aboard Dragon.
What still has to happen before splashdown?
On October 08. 2026, the capsule will drop its trunk section, close its nosecone, and fire a deorbit burn at around 10:46 a.m. EDT. The drogue and main parachutes will then be deployed before splashdown at approximately 11:34 a.m. EDT off the California coast. SpaceX recovery vessel Megan will pick up the capsule, and recovery teams will help the crew climb out.
The spacecraft is executing a series of departure burns to move away from the @Space_Station. Dragon will reenter the Earth's atmosphere and splash down in ~27.5 hours off the coast of California https://t.co/TUi29boH1M
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 7, 2026
NASA will stream the landing live on its official channels, including the X account, YouTube, and official website. A press conference will follow at 1:15 p.m. EDT to discuss the homecoming as well as SpaceX's upcoming CRS-35 cargo mission to the station, which is targeted for October 13, 2026.
