On Wednesday afternoon (Jan. 14), SpaceX’s Crew-11 mission will perform the first-ever medical evacuation from the International Space Station (ISS).
The quartet — NASA’s Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman, Kimiya Yui of Japan and cosmonaut Oleg Platonov — are cutting their planned six-month mission short by about a month due to a medical concern affecting one of them. NASA has not revealed that astronaut’s identity or the nature of the medical issue, citing privacy concerns.
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What time will Crew-11 leave the ISS?
Current plans call for Crew-11’s Crew Dragon capsule, named Endeavour, to depart the space station on Wednesday (Jan. 14) at 5:05 p.m. EST (2205 GMT).
The hatches between Endeavour and the ISS will close about 90 minutes before that, at 3:30 p.m. EST (1930 GMT), if all goes according to plan.
What time is Crew-11’s return to Earth?
Crew-11’s journey home to Earth will be relatively brief. Endeavour is scheduled to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California on Thursday (Jan. 15) at 3:41 a.m. EST (0841 GMT), 51 minutes after conducting a deorbit engine burn.
The above schedule is not set in stone, however. “Mission managers continue monitoring conditions in the recovery area, as undocking of the SpaceX Dragon depends on spacecraft readiness, recovery team readiness, weather, sea states and other factors,” NASA officials wrote in a statement on Jan. 9.
If the schedule changes, we’ll let you know.
Can I watch Crew-11’s return to Earth?
Yes, you can watch Crew-11’s undocking and splashdown, as well as a few other activities related to the astronauts’ return to Earth.
According to NASA’s Jan. 9 update, the agency will cover hatch-closing on Wednesday (Jan. 14) beginning at 3:00 p.m. EST (2000 GMT). NASA’s livestream will return at 4:45 p.m. EST (2145 GMT) that same day for undocking.
Splashdown coverage will start Thursday (Jan. 15) at 2:15 a.m. EST (0715 GMT), which will allow us to follow the de-orbit burn at 2:50 a.m. EST (0750 GMT) and splashdown 51 minutes later. A return-to-Earth press conference is scheduled for 5:45 a.m. EST (1045 GMT) on that same day, and NASA will apparently webcast that as well.
These events will air on NASA+, and the agency will likely stream them via its YouTube channel as well. In addition, SpaceX will provide its own webcast, which will begin 15 minutes before undocking on Wednesday and resume roughly an hour before splashdown on Thursday. SpaceX’s feed will be available on its website and its X account.