The Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola will be the splashdown site for SpaceX Crew Dragon on Sunday, August 2,2020. Splashdown time is 1:41 PM CDT.
2.5 hours before undocking
SpaceX will monitor changes to conditions until 2.5 hours prior to the scheduled undocking, when a determination to proceed with departure will be made. If conditions are marginal and exceed the accepted criteria, a joint recommendation by SpaceX and NASA will be made whether to proceed with undocking.
Undocking
NASA and SpaceX will make the final decision to proceed after the astronauts are ready inside Crew Dragon just before undocking.
Free Flight
Crew Dragon will proceed with departure phasing burns as planned even if conditions are marginal or NO-GO at any upcoming supported landing site and exceed the accepted criteria. Given the splashdown site may be 24 hours or more away and weather can change, Crew Dragon will always proceed with departure phase burns to preserve the supported splashdown opportunity.
Wave-off
If conditions remain NO-GO at the supported splashdown site, SpaceX and NASA will jointly make a decision to “wave-off.†In a wave-off scenario, Crew Dragon will remain in orbit for the next landing attempt 24-48 hours later.
5 hours before Deorbit (6 hours before Splashdown)
If conditions at the splashdown site are marginal and exceed the accepted criteria, SpaceX and NASA will jointly make a decision about whether to proceed with deorbit.
Crew Dragon Claw Separation (1 hour, 20 minutes before Splashdown)
SpaceX will monitor changes to conditions through the decision to proceed with the deorbit burn (30 minutes before claw separation prep), when a final determination to proceed with deorbit will be made. The claw is located on Crew Dragon’s trunk, connecting thermal control, power, and avionics system components located on the trunk to the capsule.
Recovery Criteria
The weather criteria for recovery for this demonstration mission is as follows.
Wind Speed: No greater than 15 ft/sec
Wave Period & Significant Wave Height: Driven by wave height and wave period relationship; in general, when wave height and wave period are the same, the condition is no-go. No greater than 7 degrees wave slope.
Rain: < 25% probability of 25 dBz in protected boundary • Lightning: No less than 10 miles and no greater than
25% probability of lightning in protected boundary
Helicopter Start & Hover Test: Pass-Fail test to confirm operational capability
Helicopter Operational Limits: Vessel limits will apply on motion (pitch, roll), cloud visibility, cloud ceiling and lightning
– Vessel Pitch, Roll: No greater than 4 degrees
– Ceiling: No less than 500 feet
– Visibility: No less than 1â„2 mile for day and 1 mile for night
