![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/34-resupply-return-coverage-june-12.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>NASA and its international partners are set to receive scientific research samples and hardware as a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to depart the International Space Station on Tuesday, June 16, for its return to Earth.<\/p>\n
Watch NASA\u2019s live undocking coverage beginning at 11:45 a.m. EDT on NASA+<\/a>, Amazon Prime<\/a>, and the agency\u2019s YouTube<\/a> channel. Learn how to watch NASA content<\/a> through a variety of online platforms, including social media.<\/p>\n The Dragon spacecraft will undock from the forward port of the station\u2019s Harmony module at about 12:05 p.m., after receiving a command from SpaceX ground controllers. The spacecraft then will fire its thrusters to move safely away from the orbiting complex.<\/p>\n Following a June 16 departure, the spacecraft will reenter Earth\u2019s atmosphere on Wednesday, June 17, before splashing down off the coast of California at approximately 5:08 a.m. PDT. NASA will not stream the splashdown but will post updates on its space station blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n Dragon will return to Earth with thousands of pounds of cargo, carrying samples that could shape future space exploration and life on Earth. Research returning includes bioprinted organ and cartilage tissue, data on improving cryogenic fuel storage for future space missions, and DNA\u2011inspired materials to develop new cancer treatments. The returning hardware includes an ocular imaging device used to monitor crew members\u2019 eye health, an absorbent bed that filters trace contaminants from cabin air, and a separator pump from the waste and hygiene compartment.<\/p>\n Loaded with nearly 6,500 pounds of crew cargo and science experiments, Dragon arrived at the station on May 17 after launching<\/a> two days earlier on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.<\/p>\n For more than 25 years, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and making research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. The space station helps NASA understand and overcome the challenges of human spaceflight, expand commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit, and build on the foundation for long-duration missions to the Moon, as part of the Artemis program, and to Mars.<\/p>\n Get breaking news, images, and features from the space station on Instagram<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>, and X<\/a>.<\/p>\n Learn more about International Space Station research and operations at:<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/international-space-station<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n -end-<\/p>\n Jimi Russell Leah Cheshier
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
james.j.russell@nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\n
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
leah.d.cheshier@nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\nShare<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n