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.

Return Timeline

NASA has published the following schedule for Crew-11’s departure:

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.

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.

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.