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Crew-11 Splashes Down Off California After NASA’s First Medical Evacuation From ISS

NASA ordered the early descent to enable ground-based diagnostics unavailable on the station.

Overview

  • SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endeavour undocked on Jan. 14 and completed a roughly 10–11 hour return, splashing down at 3:41 a.m. ET near San Diego.
  • The returning crew comprised NASA’s Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov.
  • NASA said one crew member had a medical issue best evaluated on Earth, described the individual as stable in orbit, and withheld the person’s identity and details for privacy.
  • Recovery teams followed standard procedures, retrieving the capsule and conducting initial medical checks before transferring the astronauts for further evaluation.
  • With Crew-11 home after about 165–167 days in space, the ISS is temporarily staffed by three, a Jan. 8 spacewalk remains canceled, and NASA is reviewing whether to move up the mid-February Crew-12 launch.