The controlled separation of two spacecraft where the departing vehicle uses its own thrusters to back away. The active spacecraft retracts its docking latches and fires reaction control system jets in a specific sequence to safely clear the immediate vicinity of the station. This requires the departing vehicle to have full autonomous or piloted flight capabilities.
Heard on the job
We plan to undock from the forward port and perform a flyaround before the departure burn.
Do not mix it up with
- Unberth: Undocking is an active maneuver under the departing ship's own power; unberthing means being moved away by a robotic arm.