Astronauts on the cramped International Space Station would have to get comfortable for at least another four days. Owing to "wind speeds above the recovery criteria," NASA has postponed the return of Crew-1 astronauts from Wednesday to 11:36 a.m. EDT Saturday in the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic Ocean off Florida.
"NASA and SpaceX agreed to move Crew-1's undocking and splashdown from Wednesday, April 28, following a review of forecast weather conditions in the splashdown zones off the coast of Florida, which currently predict wind speeds above the recovery criteria," NASA officials said in a statement.
"Teams will continue to monitor weather conditions for splashdown ahead of Friday's planned undocking," NASA added.
The astronauts will begin their journey home at 5:55 p.m. EDT. "Resilience" will be broadcast on the Crew Dragon spacecraft on Friday.
Who is Onboard Crew-1 Dragon Capsule?
Three NASA astronauts, Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, and Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency make up the returning crew.
Last week, SpaceX deployed Crew-2, NASA's second crew shift mission, to transport four more astronauts to the station. Those astronauts arrived as a relief team for the Crew-1 spacecraft last Apr. 24. It prompted Crew-1 members to return this week.
Crew-1 has been on the ISS since November, after flying aboard NASA's commercial crew partner SpaceX's first operational flight. There are actually 11 astronauts onboard the station, which is a near-record number.
When Resilience detaches from the ISS for its return to Earth, SpaceX will have completed the first of six contracted operating flights.
Crew-1 Dragon: Second Mission to Splash Down With Astronauts on Board
SpaceNews said Crew-1 would be the second Crew Dragon mission to splash down with astronauts on board after the Demo-2 flight in August 2020.
Hopkins said that he spoke with the Demo-2 astronauts, Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, to get their perspectives on the splashdown. Demo-2 was the first NASA crewed flight to end in a splashdown since the final Apollo launch, for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, in 1975, he said.
"One of the best pieces of advice that I got from Doug was, with this new vehicle and not having landed a lot before, is just making sure that you're staying ahead of the capsule," he said.
"That's something that all of us have been focusing on over the last few days, preparing for that landing, just going over our procedures and making sure that when we get into that sequence of events that we're ready to go."
SpaceX will refurbish Resilience after it recovers and ready it for the Inspiration4 commercial flight, set to begin mid-September. Hopkins mentioned that he had not yet had the opportunity to speak with the four people flying on the mission. He expressed interest in speaking with them on what it's like inside Resilience when it soars. The team can tell them about what it's like coming home eventually, Hopkins said.
How to Watch Crew-1 Dragon
The splashdown will happen in one of seven designated landing zones in the Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico.
Undocking will be broadcast live on NASA TV starting at 3:30 p.m. EDT on Friday and will last until splashdown and a post-landing press conference.
The splashdown will be shown live on NASA Television, the NASA App, and the agency's website.
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