200+ Days In Space And Still Waiting: NASA's SpaceX Crew-8 Mission Splashdown Delayed Again Due To Bad Weather

NASA and SpaceX on Wednesday postponed the Crew-8 mission's undocking from the International Space Station (ISS) to no earlier than Sunday, Oct. 20, citing unfavorable weather conditions.

What Happened: NASA said on Wednesday that the weather conditions near areas where the crew’s Dragon capsule can splashdown off the coast of Florida are unfavorable. Furthermore, conditions are expected to be unfavorable for several days, it said.

Provided that the weather conditions improve, the crew will undock from the space station no earlier than 3:05 a.m., Sunday, Oct. 20, the agency said.

Crew-8 mission includes four members: NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin. The four arrived at the ISS in March 2024 and have spent over 200 days in space.

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 Co.’s Starliner in June, and three astronauts who went to the ISS aboard the Soyuz MS-26 in September.

The Crew-8 mission’s undocking has been postponed multiple times before and was most recently expected on Oct. 18. During the mission’s launch in March, it was expected that the crew would stay aboard the station only till the end of August.

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Photo courtesy: NASA