The crew - including two stuck there after the Boeing Starliner malfunctioned - will beam their votes back to Earth thanks to a high-tech encrypted system.

Astronauts Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams and Don Pettit voted early in the presidential election from the International Space Station. The group posted a photo of themselves on NASA astronaut Nick Hague’s Instagram wearing socks that say “Proud to be American.” Wilmore and Williams have been in space since June.

NASA astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) are being issued safety precautions with 50 'areas of concern' on board. The American space agency and its Russian counterpart have been aware of a leak on the ISS since 2019.

The history of space voting starts in 1996 when astronaut John Blaha couldn’t physically vote in that year’s presidential race between President Bill Clinton and Bob Dole. Blaha was stationed aboard the now-defunct Russian Mir Space Station, a predecessor to the International Space Station.

Astronauts at the International Space Station will move a SpaceX Dragon to a new port to make way for an uncrewed spacecraft on a resupply mission.

There are four Americans currently living in space, and each has had the opportunity to add their voice to the more than 160 million other Americans able to participate in the 2024 Presidential election.

Despite being in orbit, American astronauts can vote in the election thanks to a secure space-based voting process. View on euronews