NASA's Crew-8 astronauts will remain in orbit for a longer time.
Weather conditions in Florida have caused a new delay in the return of four crew members from the International Space Station.
Astronauts from the Crew-8 mission, currently at the International Space Station (ISS), will need to remain in their temporary home for an extended period, as their return to Earth has been postponed due to poor weather conditions. The return was originally scheduled for Sunday, October 13, but was cancelled this morning due to adverse conditions in the landing area off the coast of Florida.
The crew consists of NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin. They are expected to return to our planet aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. However, due to hurricanes and extreme weather affecting Florida in recent weeks, NASA authorities decided it was safer for them to remain in orbit rather than risk landing under potentially dangerous conditions. SpaceX announced that "due to unfavorable weather conditions off the coast of Florida, the Dragon will not detach from the Space Station today."
It is still unclear when they will be able to return to Earth, as no new departure date has been established. NASA has stated that it will provide a weather report tomorrow morning, so there may be more information regarding a possible return date at that time. Delays in launches and landings related to the ISS are common due to weather conditions, as special attention is paid to any operations involving people in space. Currently, the ISS is home to 11 people, meaning it is occupied but not overcrowded, allowing Crew-8 members to stay safe until conditions improve.
Since Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida this week, several NASA operations have been affected, including missions launching from Kennedy Space Center, such as the Europa Clipper mission, which has also faced a delay recently. This uncrewed mission aims to explore Jupiter's icy moon and is now scheduled to launch tomorrow, Monday, October 14.
Additionally, SpaceX has had a rather busy weekend, conducting its fifth test flight with the Starship rocket, which included a historic event by catching a Super Heavy booster upon its return to Earth.
