SPACEX was hoping to bring two Nasa astronauts back to Earth this weekend but a huge storm is threatening the mission.

US astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley made history on May 30 when they were the first to be blasted into space by Elon Musk's space company.

4

Nasa administrator Jim Bridenstine recently tweeted: "We're targeting an Aug. 1 departure of @SpaceX's Dragon Endeavour spacecraft from the @Space_Station to bring @AstroBehnken and @Astro_Doug home after their historic #LaunchAmerica mission.

"Splashdown is targeted for Aug. 2. Weather will drive the actual date. Stay tuned."

He later said in a press briefing: "We cannot wait to get Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley back to Earth. But of course we have some weather pending."

The weather pending is Tropical Storm Isaias and it's already caused high-winds and flash floods in Puerto Rico.

4

The storms current path is bringing it straight towards several potential landing sites for the SpaceX mission that Nasa is overseeing.

The Crew Dragon spacecraft that will bring Behnken and Hurley home can't land if there's winds exceeding 10 mph (16 km/h).

It also can't land is there's rain, lightning or big waves expected.

Isaias was named a tropical storm when it's wind speeds exceeded 39 mph (62 km/h) on Wednesday evening.

4

SpaceX is aiming for it's Endeavour Crew Dragon capusule to land the astronauts in the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico.

The original plan was for the capsule to undock from the ISS at 8pm ET on August 1.

This will be midnight in the UK.

Then the astronauts are expected to splash into the ocean at 2:48pm ET (6:48pm GMT) on August 2nd.

However, three potential landing sites prescribed for the test mission are in the storm's path.

According to Nasa, the sites are are just off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Daytona, and Jacksonville.

That should still leave some other potential landing sites free.

Nasa has said it will be keeping a close eye on the weather before it makes a final decision.

When the astronauts undock from the International Space Station they'll have to land within three days or their resources will run out.

The Endeavour has been docked to the ISS and in space for around 63 days.

4

It's been designed to last for about 120 days.

In theory, this means the astronauts don't have to rush back and can wait a while longer if the weather is dangerous.

What is SpaceX?

Here's what you need to know...

SpaceX was founded by billionaire entrepreneurElon Muskwho still has part ownership of the company with 54 per cent equity and 78 per cent voting control.

SpaceX is a private American aerospace manufacturer that is based in California.

It was founded in 2002 with the goal to build affordable rockets and enable the colonisation of Mars.

The manufacturer also aimed to reducespacetransportation costs.

Since its creation, the firm has gained fame primarily as a pioneering rocket firm.

In 2008 it launched the first privately-funded liquid-propellant rocket to reach orbit and later became the first private company to launch an object into orbit around the sun.

The company has grown dramatically over its lifespan, from 160 employees in November 2005 to around 7,000 as of November 2019.

As of March 2018, SpaceX had over 100 launches on its manifest representing about $12billion (9.24billion) in contract revenue.

ROCK AND A HARD PLACEMystery of where giant Stonehenge rocks came from finally SOLVED

WAR GAMESChinese Navy adds mega-generators to warships to power high-energy railguns

DISAPPEARING ACTTwo Arctic ice caps have VANISHED as Nasa reveals images of global warming

WISE UPStunning shot of Comet Neowise shows Elon Musk's Starlink satellites 'photobombing'

HORROR-SCOPEYou've been reading the wrong horoscope for years because the stars have moved

In other space news, Musk's Starlink satellites have come under scrutiny again after ruining a stargazer's photo of Comet Neowise.

Nasa sent a rover on a journey to Mars today in a bold bid to hunt down signs of alien life on the planet's surface.

And, Musk announced last month that SpaceX's mission to get man on Mars is now the company's"top priority".

Would you like to travel to space? Let us know in the comments...

We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Tech & Science team? Email us at tech@the-sun.co.uk

Read the original here:

Huge tropical storm threatens Elon Musks historic mission to bring two Nasa astronauts home this weekend - The Sun