NASA · Wednesday, October 7, 2026
NASA’s plan: Crew-12 closes the hatch, with undocking set for 8:05 this morning
The File desk · Oct 7, 2026, 10:38 AM UTC
Status
Confirmed as NASA’s plan, from a station-blog post at 6:01 a.m. Eastern on Oct. 7, 2026. This edition locks before 8:05 a.m. The story does not say the capsule has undocked.
NASA said early Wednesday that the four Crew-12 astronauts would close the hatch to their SpaceX Dragon at about 6:20 a.m. Eastern. The capsule is set to undock from the International Space Station on its own at 8:05 a.m. That would start a trip home of about 27 hours. NASA and SpaceX are aiming for a splashdown off California at about 11:34 a.m. Thursday. Jessica Meir is to command Dragon. Jack Hathaway is to pilot it. Sophie Adenot of the European Space Agency and cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev ride with them. This is the plan. Undocking is after this edition locks.
NASA’s 6:01 a.m. station post says live coverage of undocking starts at 7:45 a.m. Coverage of the deorbit burn, entry, and splashdown starts at 10:20 a.m. Thursday. An Oct. 6 station post says the return would end the mission after 237 days in space. Crew-12 launched Feb. 13 at 5:15 a.m. Eastern from Cape Canaveral and docked the next day. Tuesday’s edition has the clock change that moved undocking to 8:05 a.m.
The Oct. 6 post says seven people stay aboard after Crew-12 leaves. It also says the crew packed science samples and prepared drink bags with salt tablets to take before reentry, to help their bodies adjust to gravity. No weather update for the Pacific was on the posts this desk read.
What is still unknown or disputed
- Whether undocking happens at 8:05 a.m. This story does not report that it has.
- The weather off California. No update was posted.
Primary sources
Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.
Source 1
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 Saying Farewell, Closing Dragon Hatch Soon
NASA Space Station blog · October 7, 2026
The spacecraft will autonomously undock from the station at 8:05 a.m. as the crew begins its roughly 27-hour journey home.
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2026/10/07/nasas-spacex-crew-12-saying-farewell-closing-dragon-hatch-soon/
Source 2
Crew-12 Ready to Depart as New Residents Begin Advanced Health Research
NASA Space Station blog · October 6, 2026
Their return to Earth will represent the completion of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission after 237 days in space.
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2026/10/06/crew-12-ready-to-depart-as-new-residents-begin-advanced-health-research/
Source 3
NASA moves Crew-12’s departure to Wednesday morning, with splashdown Thursday before noon
The File · October 6, 2026
NASA now plans to undock the Crew-12 capsule from the International Space Station at 8:05 a.m. Eastern on Wednesday, Oct. 7.
/story/nasa-crew-12-undock-moves-to-805am-oct5