New Delhi: The Crew 8 Dragon was supposed to undock from the International Space Station and return with a splashdown off the coast of Florida on 10 October. However, unfavourable conditions in the landing zones peppered across the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico have prevented the spaceship from undocking from the orbital platform. Inclement weather conditions continue since the category five Hurricane Milton crossed Florida on 10 October. NASA and SpaceX have missed undocking opportunities on 10, 13, 18, 20 and 22 October. The weather conditions are however improving, and the crew on board the space station are ready to return at a safe window.
The earliest that the Crew 8 Dragon can depart from the International Space Station is now 21:05 hours EDT on 22 October, with forecasts remaining marginal through 23 October. NASA has been evaluating the weather forecast every 12 hours, pushing ahead the departure window by 24 hours every day. The situation has improved from last week, when the undocking was delayed indefinitely, with no tentative departure window provided. As of the latest check, the weather conditions in the splashdown zones remain unfavourable. The Crew 8 mission consists of NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt and Jeanette Epps with Roscosmos Cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin.
Sleep timings of crew shifted
The crew members got some extra sleep on Monday with a shift in timings for an anticipated departure, which was not deferred. The crew will continue with the new sleep timings till at least the next weather briefing evaluating the splashdown conditions. The Crew 9 mission also changed their shift timings to match the Crew 8 astronauts to help with the scheduled departure. The astronauts on the US side had a light day because of the adjusted shift timings, while the remaining three cosmonauts on the Russian side of the orbital platform upgraded life support systems, captured hyperspectral images of the Earth, packed trash into the Progress 88 cargo shuttle, and cleaned laptops.
