On October 23, four members of the SpaceX Crew-8 mission boarded the Crew Dragon Endeavour and successfully undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) to begin their 34-hour journey back to Earth.
This return was delayed multiple times due to bad weather, scheduling conflicts, and more than seven months spent in space.
The three astronauts from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)—Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps—along with Aleksandr Grebenkin, an astronaut from the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), are expected to land off the coast of Florida in the early morning of October 25.
Watch the video of the four members of the SpaceX Crew-8 mission boarding the Crew Dragon Endeavour for their return to Earth. (Source: NASA/Reuters).
The SpaceX Crew-8 mission was originally launched to the ISS on March 4 and successfully docked after more than 24 hours.
Their return was postponed several times due to severe weather, including storms Helene and Milton, making conditions near Florida unsafe for a sea landing.
Additionally, there were scheduling conflicts due to issues with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.
The Boeing Starliner spacecraft was supposed to bring astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams back to Earth after a mission that was originally planned to last only a week, but issues arose that required them to stay at the ISS longer than expected.
The Crew Dragon Endeavour also had to be reconfigured to provide temporary seating for astronauts Wilmore and Williams in case an emergency evacuation was needed.
With conditions finally deemed safe, the SpaceX Crew-8 astronauts boarded the Crew Dragon Endeavour, concluding their nearly eight-month mission.
Meanwhile, astronauts Wilmore and Williams are currently expected to return in 2025 with Crew-9.
