Changes to Crew 11’s Return to Earth

NASA officials have announced that four astronauts are set to come back to Earth by Thursday, a full four months earlier than planned. This decision follows an unexplained medical issue affecting one of the crew members on their mission.

The SpaceX Crew 11 team will undock from the International Space Station around 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday, as part of the preparations for their return. After that, they will make their way back inside the Dragon spacecraft, with a scheduled landing off the California coast around 3:40 a.m. Thursday.

Officials stated that the quick change in plans was due to the team addressing “medical concerns,” though specifics remain under wraps because of privacy guidelines. Fortunately, NASA confirmed that the astronaut is currently in stable condition.

In addition, NASA astronaut Mike Finke recently passed command of the space station to Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergei Kud-Sverchkov. Finke expressed gratitude for the team, saying, “We had a great team. Everyone really rose to the occasion on the road. I’m really happy to be here,” during the transfer.

Finke is expected to return to Japan alongside fellow NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, along with Kamiya Yui from JAXA and Oleg Platonov from Roscosmos. Meanwhile, the current three-member crew, who launched into space last November, will stay at the station until a larger, 12-member SpaceX crew arrives in February for a nine-month mission.

Originally, the four returning astronauts were slated to launch in August and were expected back by May. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman remarked at a recent news conference about the agency’s quick action taken to ensure astronaut safety, saying he felt proud of the swift efforts made so far.