SpaceX Crew-8 Astronauts Leave ISS After Extended Weather Delays

SpaceX’s Crew-8 astronauts undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) today (Oct. 23) after more than two weeks of weather-related delays. The Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, separated from the ISS at 5:05 p.m. EDT (2105 GMT) while the station flew 260 miles (418 kilometers) above the Pacific Ocean.

The Crew-8 team, consisting of NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, is expected to splash down off the coast of Florida around 3:30 a.m. EDT (0730 GMT) on Friday, Oct. 25. NASA will livestream the event on NASA+, with a post-splashdown press conference scheduled for later that morning.

The crew’s return had been delayed since Oct. 7 due to poor conditions caused by Hurricane Milton, which impacted Florida on Oct. 9 and led to a temporary closure of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

Crew-8 launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on March 3 and arrived at the ISS two days later. This marks the eighth long-duration mission by NASA and Roscosmos astronauts aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon. Their relief crew, Crew-9, arrived on Sept. 29.