overview
- Three NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut are scheduled to depart from the International Space Station on Wednesday after weeks of delays.
- Their return flight was initially postponed as a result of problems with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, and then again due to bad weather.
- The main cause of this month’s delays is Hurricane Milton.
After facing several weeks of delays due to inclement weather, three astronauts and a cosmonaut finally left the International Space Station on Wednesday, concluding an almost eight-month mission in orbit.
NASA astronauts Matthew Dominique, Michael Barratt, Janet Epps, and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin departed the space station at 5:05 p.m. ET, leaving in a SpaceX Dragon capsule. They plan to undock from the station.
Their return journey had been delayed on multiple occasions. Initially, the attempt to undock on October 7 was called off due to Hurricane Milton, a Category 3 storm that hit Florida.
NASA and SpaceX have designated landing zones off the Florida coast for return flights.
After the hurricane passed, bad weather at the splashdown site caused further delays in the return to Earth. Stormy conditions and rough seas can pose risks during splashing and recovery of the spacecraft.
Even prior to the recent weather issues, Dominique, Barratt, Epps, and Grebenkin had already spent more time in space than originally planned.
Their Crew-8 mission began on March 5 at the International Space Station and was initially set to return in September. However, their stay was extended to keep the Dragon spacecraft available as an emergency lifeboat for Starliner crew members.
Due to issues with the Starliner, NASA had returned the capsule without a crew in September. This led to an extended stay for Wilmore and Williams. If Crew-8 had returned as scheduled, there would have been no backup for emergencies.
In the Crew-9 mission, NASA astronaut Nick Haig and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov were launched to the space station in a SpaceX capsule. Two empty seats will be used to bring Wilmore and Williams back at the end of the mission scheduled for February.
The departing group spent their time on research, experiments, and assisting visiting spacecraft, including the Starliner.
The crew is expected to splash down off the Florida coast on Friday around 3:30 a.m. ET after a 34-hour journey.
NASA will provide a Live broadcast of the undocking process starting at 3pm ET.
Source: www.nbcnews.com
