What is solar beta and why it delayed Shukla’s return from the ISS
High solar beta, the angle between the Sun and a spacecraft’s orbit, led to continuous sunlight and overheating risks on the ISS. This forced NASA to delay Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla’s return from the Axiom-4 mission, rescheduling his Crew Dragon undocking until the solar beta angle decreased for safer conditions.