Florida: The return to Earth of the Space Crew-8 mission being run by NASA and SpaceX to bring Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore from the ISS to Earth has been postponed. After the return to Earth of this mission, the Space Crew-9 mission will be run.

Space agency NASA said on Tuesday that the mission's return has been delayed until Wednesday due to a severe storm in Florida. NASA said the weather is still too unstable to attempt undocking. Astronauts from the Space Crew-8 mission are still at the ISS, where Sunita Williams and Bull Wilmore are stranded. Mission officials are keeping a close watch on the weather conditions before taking any final decision.

Crew-8 members Matthew Dominick, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps (all from NASA) and Alexander Grebenkin of Roscosmos have prepared for the planned departure.

NASA and SpaceX's Crew-8 mission is a precursor to the Crew-9 mission, which aims to bring back astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams from the ISS. Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore were sent to the ISS in June this year for an eight-day mission on Boeing's Styrolinear spacecraft.

However, due to a technical fault in the Starliner, the spacecraft had to return to Earth without Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore. The Crew-9 mission aims to bring Sunita Williams and Wilmore back by February 2025.

NASA and SpaceX are closely monitoring the status of the Crew-8 mission and if conditions improve they will not attempt undocking until 9:05 pm tonight (6:35 am tomorrow Indian Standard Time). The weather department forecasts conditions to improve later this week. This could provide a safe time for the Crew-8 mission to return to Earth.

The crew of the Crew-8 mission includes astronauts Matthew Dominick, Jeanette Epps, Mike Barrett (all from NASA) and Alexander Grebenkin of Russia's Roscosmos. Currently, the crew is continuing their daily activities on the ISS, including exercise routines and housekeeping tasks.

Changes for Space Station Crew

Expedition 72 commander Suni Williams, flight engineers Butch Wilmore, Nick Hague and Don Pettit also changed their schedules to assist with Crew-8's departure and then prepared for Tuesday's expected departure.