Due to adverse weather conditions, SpaceX and NASA have postponed the return of the Crew-6 Dragon astronauts to Earth. Originally scheduled for departure from the International Space Station on September 2, the four Crew-6 astronauts will now have to wait an additional 24 hours. The Crew Dragon capsule, carrying the astronauts, is now set to undock from the ISS no earlier than the early morning of September 3, with their splashdown anticipated just after midnight on Monday.

NASA and SpaceX jointly made the announcement on September 1, citing unfavorable weather conditions near the designated splashdown sites off the coast of Florida as the reason for the delay. The revised schedule hinges on the local weather conditions at the splashdown locations for the Crew-6 Dragon capsule.

Mission teams will convene on Friday evening to assess the feasibility of the updated undock target. Despite the delay, the Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, remains in good health while docked to the space station. The Crew-6 astronauts are preparing for their return journey to Earth, marking the completion of a nearly six-month scientific mission in orbit.

The four astronauts on board the Crew-6 mission include NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren “Woody” Hoburg, Sultan Al Neyadi from the United Arab Emirates, and Andrey Fedyaev from Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos. They embarked on their mission to the space station on March 3 and are concluding a six-month expedition in space.

Reflecting on their time together in space, Sultan Al Neyadi, the UAE’s first long-duration astronaut on the ISS, expressed a strong sense of camaraderie among the crew, emphasizing the bonds formed during their mission and the shared experiences that have created lasting memories.