NASA astronauts leave the space station after a weather delay

After weeks of delay due to bad weather, three astronauts and an astronaut departed the International Space Station on Wednesday, ending a nearly eight-month period in orbit.

NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, Janet Epps, and Russian astronaut Alexander Grebenkin departed the space station at 5:05 PM ET, separating from the orbital outpost in their SpaceX Dragon capsule.

Their return flight was delayed several times. First, the October 7 undocking attempt was canceled due to Hurricane Milton, which arrived in Florida as a Category 3 storm.

NASA and SpaceX have several areas designated for return flights, but all are located off the coast of Florida.

After the hurricane passed, the return flight to Earth was postponed several times due to unsuitable weather at the landing sites, according to NASA. Stormy conditions and choppy seas not only pose problems for the capsule when it falls into the water, but may also pose a risk to rescue teams recovering astronauts and their spacecraft.

Even before the recent weather problems, Dominic, Barratt, Epps and Grebenkin remained in space longer than originally planned.

Their mission, called Crew-8, arrived at the International Space Station on March 5 and was initially scheduled to return to Earth in September. But their orbital mission was extended so their Dragon spacecraft could serve as an emergency lifeboat for two astronauts who flew into space aboard Boeing's Starliner capsule.

Problems with this spacecraft led NASA to return the Starliner capsule without a crew in early September. The astronauts who launched on it – Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams – were originally expected to stay on the space station for about a week, but they are still there. Four months later. Had Crew 8 left at the original time, it would have left the astronauts without a way to get home if an urgent problem arose.

A separate mission, known as Crew-9, launched two crew members — NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov — to the space station aboard a SpaceX capsule late last month. This car could seat four people, so it had two empty seats, which would be used to bring Willmore and Williams home. But they will remain in space until the scheduled end of the Crew-9 mission in February.

Members of the group that left the space station on Wednesday spent their time there conducting research, scientific experiments and helping visit spacecraft, including the problematic Starliner.

The trip home will take about 34 hours in total. The crew is expected to land off the coast of Florida on Friday At approximately 3:30 a.m. ET.