Updated on Oct. 14, 5 p.m.: Crew-4 is back on Earth. Read our splashdown story.
Updated on Oct. 14, 4 p.m.: Crew-4's Dragon capsule departed from the International Space Station today, Oct. 14, at 12:05 p.m. EDT (1605 GMT) to return its four astronauts to Earth.
The capsule, named Freedom, is expected to splash down near Jacksonville, Florida later today at 4:55 p.m. EDT (2055 GMT) and a press conference is expected at 6:30 p.m. EDT (2230 GMT).
SpaceX's Crew-4 mission will leave the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday (Oct. 14) after two weather delays, and you can watch the action live.
Crew-4's Dragon capsule, named Freedom, will attempt undocking a third time at some point on Friday, NASA officials said in a tweet. This is following two undocking delays Wednesday (Oct. 13) and Thursday (Oct. 14) due to weather, NASA officials said. The splashdown date is also delayed from what was supposed to be Thursday.
"@NASA and @SpaceX mission controllers wave-off #Crew4 undocking in Dragon Freedom today due to weather concerns at the Florida splashdown site. Friday undocking times are currently being assessed," officials wrote.
When the undocking happens, you can watch it live here at Space.com, courtesy of NASA, or directly via the space agency.
Related: Amazing photos of SpaceX's Crew-4 mission
After splashdown on the Florida coast, NASA and SpaceX plan to hold a post-splashdown press conference at 6:30 p.m. EDT (2230 GMT).
That briefing will feature Steve Stich, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program; Joel Montalbano, NASA's International Space Station program manager; and a SpaceX representative, according to previous information from NASA.
None of these times are set in stone, however; they're dependent on good expected weather in Freedom's potential splashdown zones in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.
Crew-4 launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on April 27 and arrived at the ISS that same day. The mission consists of Cristoforetti and NASA astronauts Robert Hines, Kjell Lindgren and Jessica Watkins.
As its name suggests, Crew-4 is the fourth contracted astronaut mission that SpaceX has flown to the orbiting lab for NASA. It's one of two SpaceX flights currently at the ISS; Crew-5 arrived on Oct. 6 for a five-month stay.
This story was updated at 3:40 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Oct. 12 with news of the undocking delay and the updated undocking opportunities. This story was updated again at 9:17 a.m. EDT Thursday, Oct. 13 with news of the undocking and splashdown delays due to weather. This story was updated three times Friday, Oct. 14 in the morning EDT with the adjusted undocking time, news of the successful undocking and the press conference timing.
Mike Wall is the author of "Out There" (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or on Facebook.
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