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

NASA cites limited on‑orbit diagnostics, with an earlier Crew‑12 launch under review to restore staffing.

Overview

  • SpaceX’s Dragon Endeavour landed in the Pacific near San Diego at 3:41 a.m. ET after undocking at 5:20 p.m. ET on Jan. 14 for an approximately 11‑hour return.
  • Officials said one astronaut had a non‑emergency medical issue, remains stable, and was not injured on board, with NASA’s chief medical officer linking the condition to microgravity.
  • Recovery followed standard procedures with no special entry or splashdown changes, and the crew was taken for routine hospital evaluations before returning to Johnson Space Center.
  • The ISS will operate temporarily with three crew members—NASA’s Chris Williams and Russia’s Sergey Kud‑Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev—with spacewalks paused until reinforcements arrive.
  • Returning Crew‑11 members were Zena Cardman, Mike Fincke, Kimiya Yui, and Oleg Platonov, concluding a 167‑day mission cut about a month short as NASA and SpaceX assess advancing the mid‑February Crew‑12 launch.