NASA And SpaceX Delay Crew 8 Mission's Return As Hurricane Milton Nears Florida Coast

NASA and SpaceX on Monday postponed the Crew-8 mission’s undocking from the International Space Station (ISS) to no earlier than Sunday, Oct. 13, citing unfavorable weather conditions and the potential impact of Hurricane Milton across the Florida peninsula.

What Happened: The mission was previously slated to undock from the ISS no earlier than Oct.10.

Crew-8 mission includes four members: NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin. The four arrived at the ISS in March 2024 and have spent over 218 days in space.

NASA said on Monday that the mission is now expected to undock from the space station no earlier than 3:05 a.m. EDT on Sunday. Mission managers will continue to monitor weather conditions in the meantime, the agency added.

Why It Matters: Currently there are multiple astronauts on the ISS including those who went as part of the Crew-8 mission, as part of Crew-9 last month, two who went to ISS aboard Boeing’s Starliner in June, and three astronauts who went to the ISS aboard the Soyuz MS-26 in September.

Back on Earth, Hurricane Milton is now approaching Florida. The storm is expected to make landfall on Wednesday along Florida’s west coast as a Category 3 storm.

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Photo courtesy: NASA