SpaceX Crew-3 Mission’s Return to Earth Delayed to Friday Morning

The astronauts in SpaceX's Crew-3 astronaut mission are coming home soon based on its new departure schedule.

Crew-3's Dragon capsule will soon depart the International Space Station (ISS) on May 5 at 1:05 AM EDT and return to Earth via splashdown off Florida's coast on May 6 at 12:37 AM EDT, per Space.com.

Crew-3 was previously scheduled to leave the ISS on the evening of May 4 and return to Earth on May 5.

SpaceX Crew-3 Return Trip Schedule Changes

The delay, which grants the astronauts aboard the ISS a few extra hours on the space station, seems to be due to the weather.

According to a tweet from Kathy Lueders, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's human spaceflight chief, the new departure date and time allows for "shorter phasing and more time to review the latest forecast info.

Lueders also added in a follow-up tweet that the weather in Florida is being watched closely to confirm the capsule's primary and alternate sites are ideal for the capsule's return.

The team will also conduct another weather review about 24 hours before the capsule departs from the ISS to see if the trip can be given the thumbs up.

SpaceX's Crew 3 is made up of four astronauts consisting of three Americans, Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, Kayla Barron, and European Space Agency German astronaut Mattias Maurer.

Kayla and Raja are selected for the Artemis missions to be the first woman and first person of color to go to the moon, per SpaceCenter.org.

SpaceX isn't a stranger to return missions getting delayed due to bad weather. The return trip of SpaceX's Crew-2 was also delayed by a day due to high winds off the Florida coast, per The Guardian and a separate Space.com report.

Crew-2's return trip was previously scheduled for November 7, 2021, but due to the presence of high winds, which makes conditions for the return trip unfavorable, NASA officials moved the trip to the afternoon of November 8 to let the wind die down.

SpaceX Crew-3 Launch Details

SpaceX Crew-3 launched from the Kennedy Space Center to arrive at the ISS on November 2 at 1:10 AM ET. NASA actually delayed the launch due to unfavorable weather conditions around the space center. This weather condition was created by a large storm system wandering throughout the Ohio Valley and across the northeastern part of the US at the time.

The delay is also caused by a "minor medical issue" affecting one of teh crew members, according to a Space.com report.

Crew-3 successfully arrived at the ISS on November 10 at 6:32 PM EST, beginning Chari, Marshburn, Barron, and Maurer's six-month stay in the space station, performing "new and interesting" scientific research in various fields like materials science, health technologies, and plant science.

These tests will allow the astronauts to prepare for human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit and benefit life on Earth, according to NASA.