Hurricane Milton Strands Astronauts In Space As NASA Delays SpaceX Crew-8 Return

Photo: SpaceX

The category-four Hurricane Milton will make landfall in Florida on Wednesday and is projected to be the worst to strike the state in 100 years. The devastation expected across the peninsula has already impacted NASA’s space operations. The agency delayed the return of the SpaceX Crew-8 mission, initially planned for October 7. However, the wait for the mission’s astronauts on the International Space Station won’t be as long as the five-month wait for the Boeing Starliner crew.

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The Crew-8 mission launched in March and quickly became an avenue to support the Boeing Crew Flight Test. The SpaceX mission was extended to serve as a lifeboat in case the Starliner’s astronauts needed a way off if an emergency happened on the ISS. This new role meant the Crew-8 Dragon could leave until the Crew-9 arrived, pushing back a September return into early October.

With the Crew-8 Dragon landing off the coast of Florida, Hurricane Milton immediately impacted the return. While NASA simply cited “weather conditions” in its initial statement, the most recent update on Monday referred to the storm by name:

NASA and SpaceX now are targeting no earlier than 3:05 a.m. EDT Sunday, Oct. 13, for the undocking of the Crew-8 mission from the International Space Station due to weather conditions and potential impacts from Hurricane Milton across the Florida peninsula. Mission managers continue to monitor conditions, with the next weather briefing planned for 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 11.

An extra week in space for four astronauts isn’t a big deal for the average Floridian bracing for this historic storm. For the drivers hoping to get out of dodge, nearly 1,500 gas stations are out of fuel. A tornado touched out and crossed an interstate highway. It might just be safer to stay in low Earth orbit.