CAPE
CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Tropical weather barreling toward Florida could
delay this weekend’s planned return of the first SpaceX crew.
On
Wednesday, SpaceX and NASA cleared the Dragon crew capsule to depart
the International Space Station and head home after a two-month flight.
Because
NASA test pilots Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken will aim for the Atlantic
or Gulf of Mexico just off Florida’s coast, the wind and waves must be
relatively calm. It would be the first astronaut splashdown in 45 years
Managers
are targeting a Sunday splashdown, right around the time rough weather
is expected to hit Florida. The weather system was in the eastern
Caribbean on Wednesday and was expected to develop into a tropical storm
NASA’s commercial
crew program manager, Steve Stich, said flight controllers will closely
monitor the weather and, if necessary, keep the astronauts at the space
station until conditions improve.
“You
have to remember this is a test flight,” NASA Administrator Jim
Bridenstine said from Kennedy Space Center. “If the weather isn’t good
or the sea states aren’t good, we’re going to take our time bringing Bob
and Doug home. Our No. 1 highest priority is their safety.”
Elon
Musk’s SpaceX company made history on May 30 when launching Hurley and
Behnken. It marked the first launch of NASA astronauts from the U.S. in
nearly a decade and also the first time a private company sent people
into orbit. SpaceX is already preparing to launch a second crew to the
space station at the end of September.
NASA wants six weeks between the splashdown and the launch of the next Dragon crew, for capsule inspections and reviews.