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Crew-11 Splashes Down Off California After First ISS Medical Evacuation

NASA ordered the early return to enable full evaluation on Earth for an unresolved medical condition.

Overview

  • SpaceX’s Crew Dragon undocked overnight and completed roughly an 11-hour trip to a confirmed splashdown off the California coast, according to NASA live coverage.
  • The returning crew comprises NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov.
  • NASA has not identified the affected astronaut or disclosed the diagnosis, stating the individual is stable as officials cited an unresolved condition and continuing risk.
  • A planned spacewalk was canceled days earlier, and command of the station was handed from Fincke to Russia’s Sergei Kud-Swertschkow before departure.
  • Station operations continue with a three-person crew—Kud-Swertschkow, Sergei Mikaev, and NASA’s Chris Williams—as agencies consider moving up the next rotation launch.