Infrared cameras tracked Crew Dragon under parachutes in the night sky over the Pacific Ocean Source: NASA Livestream
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule carrying the four-person Crew-11 team touched down in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego early Thursday, wrapping up a mission that lasted just over five months aboard the International Space Station.
NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov splashed down at 12:41 AM PT. SpaceX recovery crews pulled the spacecraft and astronauts from the water shortly after.
NASA Astronaut Mike Finke was the first to exit Crew Dragon this morning after it was brought aboard SpaceX’s recovery vehicle.
The crew came home roughly three weeks ahead of schedule due to an undisclosed medical issue affecting one of the four. Citing privacy, NASA has declined to identify which crew member is involved but confirmed the individual remains in stable condition. All four astronauts were transported to a local hospital for evaluation following splashdown—a precautionary measure to take advantage of medical resources on the ground. Presumably, the crew member with the medical issue can now begin treatment.
“I couldn’t be prouder of our astronauts and the teams on the ground at NASA, SpaceX, and across our international partnerships,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in a statement. “Their professionalism and focus kept the mission on track, even with an adjusted timeline.”
The crew launched from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A on August 1, 2025, and docked to the station about 15 hours later. Over the course of 167 days in orbit, they circled Earth more than 2,670 times and racked up nearly 71 million miles.
Crew 11 Launching
Crew-11 conducted more than 140 experiments during their stay and marked the 25th anniversary of continuous human presence aboard the ISS on November 2. The mission was Fincke’s fourth trip to space, bringing his career total to 549 days—fourth-highest among all NASA astronauts. For Cardman and Platonov, it was their first spaceflight.
After a planned overnight hospital stay, all four crew members will head to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston for standard postflight medical checks and reconditioning.
NASA and SpaceX are targeting Wednesday, January 14, at 5:00 PM EST for the undocking of Dragon Endeavour from the International Space Station, beginning the first medical evacuation in the orbiting laboratory’s 25-year history. If weather and all other factors are acceptable, the four-person Crew-11 team is expected to splash down off the coast of San Diego, California, at approximately 3:40 AM ET on Thursday, January 15.
The roughly 11-hour journey from undocking to splashdown follows standard Crew Dragon procedures. Mission managers continue monitoring weather and sea states in the Pacific Ocean recovery zone, and the precise splashdown location will be confirmed closer to undocking.
Crew 11 Is A Controlled Evacuation, Not An Emergency Egress
NASA officials have repeatedly emphasized this is a “controlled medical evacuation” rather than an emergency return. In true emergencies, Dragon can bring crew home within hours, but the agency opted for standard departure procedures to minimize risk.
“Safely conducting our missions is our highest priority,” NASA stated. “These are the situations NASA and our partners train for and prepare to execute safely.”
The affected crew member remains stable. NASA has declined to identify which of the four astronauts is experiencing the medical concern, citing privacy policies. The issue first came to light on January 7 when JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui requested a private medical conference with flight surgeons.
Crew 11 Astronaut Mike Finke Provides An Update
As many of you have heard, our crew will be coming home just a few weeks earlier than planned due to an unexpected medical issue. First and foremost, we are all OK. Everyone on board is stable, safe, and well cared for. This was a deliberate decision to allow the right medical evaluations to happen on the ground, where the full range of diagnostic capability exists. It’s the right call, even if it’s a bit bittersweet.
This photo was taken as we prepared our space suits for return—a normal, methodical step in getting ready to come home, and a reminder that this decision was made calmly and carefully, with people at the center.
What stands out most to me is how clearly NASA cares about its people. Flight surgeons, engineers, managers, and support teams came together quickly and professionally to chart the best path forward. The ground teams—across mission control centers and partner organizations around the world—have been extraordinary.
We’re proud of the joint work we’ve done and the camaraderie we’ve shared, including some great songs and more than a few dad jokes. It has been a privilege to serve aboard the International Space Station—an extraordinary orbiting laboratory and a symbol of what nations can achieve together. Living and working here with our international partners has been both humbling and deeply rewarding.
This moment also highlights the strength of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program and our partnership with SpaceX. Dragon provides a safe, reliable, and flexible capability to bring us home on short notice when it’s the right thing to do.
We’re leaving the ISS in great hands. The three crewmates who arrived in November will continue the mission, and they’ll be joined by Crew-12 in just a few weeks. Explore 74!
We’re grateful for the teamwork, proud of the mission, and looking forward to coming home soon—back to our loved ones and to resolving any medical questions with the best care available.
— Ad Astra per Aspera! NASA Astronaut Mike Fincke, January 11, 2026
Interestingly, Mike Finke gave the update outside of NASA’s official media channels, instead, he posted it to his LinkedIn page. That’s not to say that NASA did not know and approve of what Finke had to say, just that he made it a personal statement from a personal channel.
Crew Preparations Underway
The Crew-11 astronauts have spent recent days preparing for departure. A key step involves fit-checking their Dragon pressure suits—necessary because the spine lengthens and body fluids shift toward the head in microgravity, affecting torso and limb dimensions. The crew also tested suit audio and video communication systems.
Commander Zena Cardman drained water from two NASA spacesuits aboard the station—the same suits that would have been used for the January 8 spacewalk that was cancelled when the medical situation arose. Yui and Platonov continued research activities, with Platonov studying blood vessel function in microgravity and methods for preventing blood clots during spaceflight.
NASA diagram of the current docking location for the spacecraft at ISS credit: NASA
Station Crew After Departure
When Endeavour undocks, the International Space Station will be left with only three crew members—the smallest complement in years:
Chris Williams (NASA)
Sergey Kud-Sverchkov (Roscosmos)
Sergei Mikaev (Roscosmos)
The trio arrived November 27, 2025, aboard Soyuz MS-28 and will remain aboard until July 2026. Williams will serve as the sole American operator for NASA’s systems and science experiments until Crew-12 arrives.
Expedition 74 crew members (from left) NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergey Mikaev pose for a portrait at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Credit: NASA/James Blair
NASA and Roscosmos intentionally place astronauts on different spacecraft precisely for situations like this. The U.S. and Russian segments of the station are interdependent, requiring at least one person from each country to keep operations running.
“This is one of the reasons why we fly mixed crews on Soyuz and US vehicles,” said NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya in a NASA press conference last Friday. “We want to make sure we have operators for both segments.”
Crew-12 Launch Under Evaluation
NASA is assessing whether to accelerate the Crew-12 launch, currently targeting no earlier than February 15. The Crew-12 team includes NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman has indicated the agency is comfortable with the gap in crew size. The station has operated with skeleton crews before—as few as two people remained aboard following the Columbia tragedy in 2003.
Asked whether an accelerated Crew-12 launch could impact Artemis II preparations at Kennedy Space Center, Isaacman was direct: “These would be totally separate campaigns at this point.” NASA’s crewed lunar mission remains on track for its February launch window.
Historical Context
While unprecedented for the International Space Station, medical evacuations from orbit have occurred before. In November 1985, Soviet Salyut 7 commander Vladimir Vasyutin became seriously ill after two months in space and returned early with his crewmates.
Afterward, Cosmonaut Viktor Savinykh published a diary detailing the difficult situation. Like NASA today, Soviet officials declined to identify the specific medical problem for privacy reasons, though it is generally believed to have been a prostate infection.
The Crew-11 return demonstrates the value of having crew return vehicles permanently docked at the station. Dragon Endeavour has been attached to the Harmony module’s zenith port since August 2025, ready for exactly this contingency.
Looking Ahead
NASA coverage of undocking and splashdown will air on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. Following crew recovery, a media conference is scheduled for 5:45 AM EST on January 15.
The return will mark the end of Crew-11’s mission approximately three weeks ahead of schedule. Upon splashdown, the affected crew member will receive appropriate medical evaluation and care—the primary goal that prompted NASA’s decision to bring the team home early.
Crew 11 prepares to board Crew Dragon and launch to Station on August 1, 2025. Photo: Charles Boyer
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced in a press conference today that NASA’s Crew 11 would return early from the International Space Station due to an unnamed medical issue with an unnamed member of the crew. The date and time of that return has not yet been determined, and will be announced once it is determined.
NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Michael Fincke, JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov comprise Crew 11.
“Yesterday, January 7th, a single crew member on board the station experienced a medical situation and is now stable. After discussions with Chief Health and Medical Officer Dr. J.D. Polk and leadership across the agency, I’ve come to the decision that it’s in the best interest of our astronauts to return Crew 11 ahead of their planned departure within the coming days.”
— NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman
Regarding the specifics of when Crew 11 will return, Isaacman added that, “We expect to provide a further update within the next 48 hours as to the expected anticipated undock and reentry timeline.” That’s Saturday afternoon. Stay tuned.
Crew 11 ascending to orbit on August 1, 2025. Photo: Charles Boyer
Crew 11 launched on August 1, 2025 and has spent 160 days in space since then. Originally planned to return next month after the arrival and handoff to Crew 12, which had planned to launch in mid-February.
Later, Isaacman said plainly, “This is not an emergency deorbit. We retain the capability to bring astronauts home in a matter of hours if necessary. So this is recognizing, first of all, we’re always going to do the right thing for our astronauts, but it’s recognizing it’s the end of the Crew 11 mission right now.”
Jared Isaacman, January 8, 2026. Via NASA Stream
So, one of the four astronauts has a serious enough issue to require testing or treatment on Earth, but it is not an immediate life-or-death emergency requiring Crew 11 to return to Earth with all possible haste. Instead, NASA is moving the timeline up for Crew 11’s return as a matter of prudence for one of its astronauts (or cosmonauts).
Once Crew 11 and Crew Dragon departs, ISS would be down to a skeleton crew: Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev from Roscosmos and NASA’s Chris Williams. They would have only the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft that docked on Nov. 27, 2025 as a return vehicle.
NASA is looking at accelerating the Crew 12 launch, but no new target date has been announced. “Alongside our international and commercial partners, NASA is evaluating their timeline to include earlier launch opportunities. We will provide more information when it’s available,” Isaacman announced.
What About Artemis II? Could This Issue Create A Delay?
Crew 12 is slated to fly in mid-February from The Cape, and launching earlier might have NASA preparing to launch two different crews on two entirely different missions in a very short timespan: Artemis II is currently scheduled to fly in early February. Launching Crew 12 earlier puts the two closer together on the calendar.
Asked if that would create a conflict within the agency, Isaacman replied to CBS News’s Bill Harwood that “These are totally separate campaigns at this point. We’re still evaluating what earlier dates would be achievable, if any, for Crew 12. So right now we’re going to look at all operations, all of our all of our standard process[es] to prepare for Crew 12 and look for opportunities if we can bring it in while simultaneously conducting our Artemis II campaign.”
Isaacman added that “There’s no reason to believe at this point in time that there would be any overlap that we’d have to de-conflict for.”
A Russian Soyuz rocket lifted a three person crew into orbit early Thursday, carrying one NASA astronaut and two Roscosmos cosmonauts to the International Space Station. Their arrival boosts the station’s population to ten as Expedition 73 prepares for its upcoming crew rotation and a busy stretch of science work.
As the International Space Station nears its 2030 planned retirement, both American and European players are accelerating efforts to ensure a continued human presence in low Earth orbit (LEO). American companies are spearheading multiple commercial station projects, while Europe is increasingly aligning itself as a strategic partner in the emerging space economy.
NASA has taken a clear stance: rather than replace the ISS with another government-owned platform, it’s backing private companies to build and operate commercial stations. Through its Commercial Low Earth Orbit Destinations (CLD) program, NASA is funding early design and development, with plans to purchase services as a customer once the stations are operational.
Here are where the key U.S. projects stand:
Axiom Station (Axiom Space)
Axiom Hab 1 under construction Photo: Axiom Space
Axiom will launch its first module to the ISS in 2026, marking the beginning of the Axiom Station. Only one module, the Payload Power Thermal Module (AxPPTM), will be attached to ISS. When Habitat 1 (AxH1) is launched, AxPPTM will detach from ISS and will dock with AxH1, separate from NASA’s orbiting outpost.
Axiom’s roadmap for station development Graphic: Axiom Space
Axiom already has experience flying private missions to the ISS, is building new EVA spacesuits, and is one of the most advanced competitors in the commercial space station market in terms of flight readiness.
Let’s hope they come up with some friendlier names for each of the modules.
Haven-1 & Haven Demo (Vast Space)
Vast Space is building a modular station beginning with Haven-1, planned for launch in May 2026 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9. It will support short-duration missions for four crew members and is designed to operate autonomously before more complex modules are added.
Artist’s rendering of Vast-1, which is currently under construction.
Ahead of Haven-1, Vast will launch a Haven Demo mission — a critical uncrewed test flight that will validate life support systems, power, comms, and other station functions. This demo is expected in 2025 and will serve as a technological shakedown before human occupation.
No launch date has been set for Haven Demo, but launching this year is more than aspirational, given that the company announced on September 26, “Haven Demo build and test are complete, and it is now undergoing final integration for launch.”
Vast’s roadmap includes Haven-2, a larger and more capable successor, anticipated by 2028. In June 2024, Vast signed a cooperation agreement with the European Space Agency (ESA), opening the door for European astronauts and payloads to fly on its platforms.
Starlab (Voyager/Nanoracks + Airbus)
A Starlab rendering of its planned orbital station. Credit: Starlab
Targeting a 2029 launch, Starlab is a collaboration between U.S.-based Voyager Space and Nanoracks, with European aerospace giant Airbus as a co-developer. The station has completed major design reviews and is moving into the full production phase. Its design supports four crew members and includes laboratory space for government and commercial users. Airbus’s involvement makes this one of the most international of the U.S.-led efforts.
Orbital Reef (Blue Origin + Sierra Space)
Artist’s conception of Orbital Reef Credit: Sierra Space
Orbital Reef, billed as a “business park in space,” is being developed with a mix of partners, including Blue Origin, Sierra Space, Boeing, and others. The plan includes large inflatable habitat modules (Sierra’s LIFE system) and facilities for research, tourism, and manufacturing. It’s an ambitious project, but it is still in its design stages.
No advanced design review or acceptance meetings have been announced, and no metal has been bent to create a first flight module for Orbital Reef. The project partners have a stated 2027 goal, but does not seem to be a priority for some of them at this point in time.
Europe: Infrastructure, Access, and Industry Roles
While Europe lacks a flagship commercial space station project of its own, ESA is actively engaging through industrial support and international partnerships.
Airbus in Starlab: The European aerospace leader plays a central role in the development of Starlab, ostensibly to ensure that European technology is integrated into the next generation of orbital stations.
ESA–Vast Agreement: ESA’s memorandum of understanding with Vast signals a shift toward broader collaboration with commercial operators outside of Europe, giving ESA member states potential crew and science access aboard Haven-class stations.
Cargo Return Services: ESA has also contracted Thales Alenia Space (Italy) and The Exploration Company (Germany) to develop LEO cargo return vehicles by 2028–2030. These efforts support future station resupply and science return — capabilities vital for any long-term orbital presence.
Exploratory Talks with Blue Origin: ESA is reportedly in talks to integrate European hardware or services into Orbital Reef, another sign of the agency’s pivot toward cooperative participation in commercial platforms rather than duplicating them.
Outlook: High Stakes, Compressed Timelines
With ISS operations expected to wind down by the end of the decade, time is tight. NASA and its commercial partners face a complex mix of engineering, regulatory, and financial hurdles. The recent postponement of NASA’s next CLD solicitation reflects industry-wide uncertainty and a need for clearer demand signals.
ISS On Orbit…For Now
Photo: NASA
Meanwhile, Europe’s more cautious strategy — focused on access, partnerships, and enabling infrastructure — may prove prudent if their own efforts with Starlab stutter. At the same time, it also risks leaving Europe dependent on foreign platforms unless greater independence is pursued.
That means money, and it is in short supply these days, as the ESA budget has flattened: €7.68 billion ($7.91 billion) in 2025, down about 1.4% from the €7.79 billion the agency had allocated for 2024.
Stay Tuned…
If early stations like Haven-1 and Axiom Station succeed, the LEO economy could expand quickly in the 2030s, with multiple platforms offering access to governments, scientists, private astronauts, and commercial industries alike.
There are surely some potholes in the road to space for all of the companies. Not only do they have to create a spacecraft that will reliably keep its occupants alive, but they will also need to establish supply chains (resupply missions) and operational groups to manage it all. It’s a daunting task for anyone.
So, as always, stay tuned, there is a lot more to come, but things are about to start getting interesting.
SpaceX, NASA and the Crew 11 astronauts beat the clouds and rain showers and launched before summer showers washed over Kennedy Space Center today, but just barely. With dark skies and rain rapidly advancing from the south, liftoff of SpaceX’s 18th crewed flight was at 11:43 AM ET from venerable Launch Complex 39A. Crew 11’s four astronauts are now on their way to the International Space Station after today’s launch, with an expected arrival time at the orbital outpost around 3 AM ET tomorrow, August 2.
Gravity Turn: After Max-Q and now in its supersonic flight phase, Falcon 9 enters another gear, leaving the contrail it just made behind quickly. The cloud is from the rocket, not the storms it was escaping on August 1, 2025.
Axiom 4 lifts off from LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center
After several delays, Axiom 4 is on its way to the International Space Station. The corporate mission, commanded by NASA veteran Peggy Whitson, lifted off at 2:31 AM Eastern Time from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon.
In addition to Whitson, Shubhanshu Shukla, an officer in the Indian Air Force and astronaut with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), will serve as the pilot. Mission specialists include Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, a project astronaut with the European Space Agency (ESA) representing Poland, and Tibor Kapu from Hungary. Notably, this mission marks the first time astronauts from India, Poland, and Hungary will visit the ISS, representing each nation’s first government-sponsored human spaceflight in over 40 years.
Axiom 4, the privately operated crewed spaceflight, now has a confirmed launch date of June 22, 2025. The mission is slated to lift off at 3:42 AM ET, from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.
Originally scheduled for June 19, the flight window was pushed back as engineers addressed technical issues and concerns about the ISS leaks. The new timeline promises a mission duration ranging from 14 to 21 days to complete its planned research program.
“No one remembers launch delays, but no one ever forgets a real problem.”
–V.L. Pinson Sr., former ABMA and NASA veteran
The mission will utilize a Falcon 9 to carry the newly built Crew Dragon spacecraft C213 into low Earth orbit, marking the final Crew Dragon capsule to enter service in SpaceX’s original slate of capsules. The four-person crew—veteran astronaut Peggy Whitson commanding, Indian pilot Shubhanshu Shukla, ESA’s Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, and Hungarian specialist Tibor Kapu—will conduct science and technology demonstrations aboard ISS during their flight.
Axiom Space first announced on April 3 that Ax-4 would launch no earlier than May, reflecting a cautious approach as technical reviews and ISS scheduling took shape.
By mid-April, the Ax-4 team was gearing up for a busy agenda aboard ISS with a target window of no earlier than late May. The packed schedule—includes biological experiments, materials science tests, and station maintenance tasks.
After some shifts to the right on the schedule, the mission stood ready to launch on June 10th, but weather in the ascent corridor forced mission managers to call of any launch attempt that day. The ascent corridor is the zone where Crew Dragon and its crew would land in the unlikely event of an abort. The zone extends offshore in the Atlantic Ocean from Kennedy Space all the way to Ireland, and weather inside it must be suitable — just in case.
The next day, the first launch attempt on June 11 was scrubbed after engineers detected a propellant leak in the rocket’s liquid oxygen system and called off the launch to remediate the issue.
Next, a pressure leak in the Zvezda service module on the ISS prompted NASA and Roscosmos to stabilize the module before approving further dockings, contributing to another postponement announced on June 12.
NASA, SpaceX and Axiom have now agreed on a launch attempt in the predawn hours of the first full day of summer: June 22nd. Falcon 9’s leaks have been resolved, the Space Station leak issue is now under control, and at this point, weather on the 22nd looks as though it will be acceptable for Axiom 4’s ascent into orbit.
The Indian Connection
For India’s space program, Ax-4 represents a milestone: it provides the first opportunity for an Indian astronaut to fly to ISS. Pilot and Indian Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu “Shux” Shukla, part of ISRO’s cadre of astronauts, will carry out experiments developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation in fields ranging from microbial adaptation to muscle atrophy studies.
His flight will be the precursor to his upcoming flight aboard ISRO’s Gaganyaan-1, India’s first domestically built crewed orbital spacecraft. At 39, Shukla is a veteran test pilot, having flown everything from MiG-21s to Su-30s.
Gaganyaan capsule Photo: ISRO
One Of America’s Most Astronauts Commands
Tibor Kapu, courtesy Axiom Space
Axiom 4 will be commanded by Peggy Whitson—a former NASA chief astronaut and current Director of Human Spaceflight at Axiom Space—Ax-4 brings seasoned leadership to this venture. Whitson holds multiple Station records and is tasked with overseeing the flights to and from ISS. She has spent 665 days in space so far.
Poland and Hungary Returning To Spaceflight After 40 Years
Joining Whitson and Shukla is Sławosz Uznański, a Polish engineer and the first representative of his country in space since 1978. Back then, it was Mirosław Hermaszewski aboard a Soviet Soyuz. This time, it’s Uznański flying under the banner of the European Space Agency as a mission specialist. A former CERN engineer and ESA reserve astronaut, Uznański’s path to space was defined more by science than by spectacle. His role on Ax-4 emphasizes research, including a number of biomedical and Earth-monitoring experiments designed by Polish institutions.
Sławosz Uznański, courtesy Axiom Space
Hungary, too, is returning to space after a four-decade absence. Tibor Kapu, an engineer selected under the Hungarian government’s HUNOR program, became only the second Hungarian to ever fly in space. He beat out nearly 250 applicants for the role. The first, Bertalan Farkas, flew aboard a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft in 1980.
Kapu’s mission is both technical and symbolic. “This is not just a mission for Hungary,” he said before launch. “It’s for all the small nations looking toward the stars and asking if they can be part of the next chapter.”
SpaceX and NASA launched the CRS-32 mission early Monday morning from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center. After an apparently event-free countdown, liftoff was at 04:15:34 AM ET. About 7.5 minutes after liftoff, the booster used for the flight returned to land at Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Falcon 9 lifts off at 04:15 AM, April 21, 2025 to start the CRS-32 mission to ISS. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
SpaceX and NASA launched the CRS-32 mission early Monday morning from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center. After an apparently event-free countdown, liftoff was at 04:15:34 AM ET. About 7.5 minutes after liftoff, the booster used for the flight returned to land at Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Shortly after reaching its initial orbit Cargo Dragon successfully separated from its launch vehicle and is now targeted to dock at the International Space Station on Tuesday, April 22, around 8:20 AM. ET.
Spectators and Space Coast residents won’t have to wait long for the next launch and also the next RTLS (Return To Launch Site) mission: tonight (Monday, April 21) SpaceX is planning to launch the Bandwagon 3 mission from Cape Canaveral.
Falcon 9 Block 5 | Bandwagon-3 Mission Details
Mission
Falcon 9 Block 5 | Bandwagon-3
Organization
SpaceX
Location
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Rocket
Falcon 9 Block 5
Pad
Space Launch Complex 40
Status
Go for Launch
Status Info
Current T-0 confirmed by official or reliable sources.
Window Opens
Monday, 04/21/2025 8:43:00 PM EDT
Window Closes
Monday, 04/21/2025 9:23:00 PM EDT
Destination
Low Earth Orbit
Mission Description
Dedicated rideshare flight to a mid-inclination orbit with dozens of small microsatellites and nanosatellites for commercial and government customers. The mission includes payloads such as the PHOENIX re-entry capsule, 425Sat-3, and Tomorrow-S7. The Falcon 9 first stage booster B1090 will be making its third flight and is scheduled to land back at Landing Zone 2 (LZ-2) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. A sonic boom is likely to occur a few minutes after launch as the booster returns to the launch site. Be prepared for a loud but thrilling experience!
Through the mangroves, the flight of Falcon 9 as a timelapse. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of TitusvilleAfter separating from the second stage, Falcon 9’s booster put on a show. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
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