WASHINGTON: A SpaceX capsule carrying four astronauts has undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) and is en route back to Earth after delays caused by adverse weather conditions, NASA announced on Wednesday.
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, with NASA astronauts Matt Dominick, Mike Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin on board, undocked at 2105 GMT. The capsule is expected to splash down off the coast of Florida at around 3:30 am on Friday (0730 GMT), according to the German Press Agency (dpa).
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The astronauts have been stationed on the ISS since March and were originally scheduled to return to Earth about two weeks ago. However, their return was delayed due to Hurricane Milton, which disrupted NASA’s plans for a safe landing.
NASA also cited further adverse weather conditions that caused additional delays to the crew’s return.
This mission marks the continued collaboration between NASA and SpaceX for crew transportation to and from the ISS. The Dragon capsule, a reusable spacecraft developed by SpaceX, has been instrumental in transporting astronauts to the space station under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
The safe return of the crew is crucial, as the capsule carries important scientific data and results from experiments conducted during their stay on the ISS, which spanned more than six months. These findings will be studied upon their return to Earth and will help contribute to ongoing scientific research and exploration efforts.
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NASA and SpaceX will closely monitor the weather conditions as the Dragon capsule approaches its splashdown location in the Atlantic Ocean. Upon landing, recovery teams will retrieve the astronauts and capsule from the ocean and transport them back to NASA facilities for post-mission debriefing and medical evaluations.
