New Delhi: NASA is monitoring weather conditions at multiple possible splashdown sites off the Florida coast, but has not found a suitable opportunity for over a week. The teams will assess the situation and decide on a departure date for the crew module from the International Space Station (ISS) on 20 October, with the earliest possible undocking opportunity on 21 October. The SpaceX Crew 8 Dragon was supposed to leave from the ISS on 10 October, but the category five Hurricane Milton forced the dates to be pushed to 13 October, but the weather conditions did not clear up, causing the mission to be put on hold. NASA then considered opportunities on 18 October and 20 October, before opting to wait further.
Hurricane Milton behind the Crew 9 Dragon, seen from the window of the Crew 8 Dragon. (Image Credit: NASA/Matthew Dominick).
NASA Astronauts Matthew Dominick, Mike Barratt and Jeanette Epps and Roscosmos Cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin are returning on the Crew 8 mission, after completing a seven month standard crew rotation on the ISS. The astronauts had a light weekend on the ISS. On Friday, Dominick worked on maintaining the plumbing and ventilation system on the orbital platform, Barratt serviced the helmet of a spacesuit, Epps worked on the cable management of a station computer, and Grebenkin worked on the ventilation over at the Russian side of the station.
The Crew of the Boeing Starliner
NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore, pilot and commander of the Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test, have now completely moved to the Crew 9 mission. Sunita Williams is now the commander of the International Space Station. Sunita Williams worked on radio hardware and took a cognition test on Friday, while Wilmore conducted observations using a fluorescence microscope. It was a half-day for the astronauts on board the ISS. Wilmore and Williams are aiming to return from the space station in February next year.
