[ad_1]
After a delay of six months, three astronauts and one astronaut finally began their homecoming journey after the SpaceX Dragon capsule lifted off from the International Space Station (ISS) early Thursday.
Astronauts Matthew Dominic, Michael Barrett, Janet Epps and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin lifted off from the ISS aboard the Dragon capsule at around 2:40 am (IST) on Thursday.
After a journey of about 34 hours, Crew 8’s three astronauts and one cosmonaut are expected to land near the Florida coast at around 1 pm (IST) on Friday. The public can watch live coverage of the undocking process, which will be live-streamed on NASA+ and the agency’s website.
Hurricane Milton on the way
While the astronauts were originally scheduled to return on October 7, their undocking was canceled due to Hurricane Milton in Florida, which intensified into a Category 3 hurricane.
NASA said the return flight was postponed several times due to adverse weather conditions near the splashdown sites.
The mission, which launched March 5 from Launch Complex 39A in Florida at the Kennedy Space Center, involved a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launching a Dragon spacecraft named Endeavor into orbit. This is the eighth commercial crew rotation mission to the ISS.
Astronauts Dominic, Barratt, Epps and Grebenkin’s journey to the ISS was a scientific expedition that included more than 200 experiments and technology demonstrations.
Although the astronauts were initially scheduled to return to Earth in September, Starliner encountered technical difficulties, forcing NASA to return the capsule without a crew.
As part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, the Crew-8 mission will return critical and time-sensitive research to Earth, the space agency said in its official release.
Sunita Williams could not return
Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, launched aboard Starliner, were originally planned for a one-week stay at the ISS, but are now unable to return for four months.
[ad_2]
