Crew-11 astronauts 'go' for early return Wednesday as NASA monitors California weather
Crew-11 is set to splash down off Southern California following a rare medical evacuation from orbit.
For the first time in the 25-year history of the International Space Station, NASA has moved to bring astronauts back to Earth after a medical issue aboard the station.
NASA and SpaceX are preparing to return the Crew-11 astronauts to Earth this week in the first-ever medical evacuation from the International Space Station, prompted by an ongoing medical concern affecting one of the crew members.
Mission teams are closely monitoring weather conditions off the Southern California coast, where the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft is scheduled to splash down Thursday after undocking from the space station roughly 11 hours earlier.
Expedition 73 poses for a portrait after welcoming four new crew members shortly after they arrived on a SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft as part of NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 mission on Aug. 2, 2025. In the front row from left, are the newest crewmates Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, NASA astronauts Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui. In the back row, are JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi, Roscosmos cosmonauts Kirill Peskov, Alexey Zubritsky, and Sergey Ryzhikov, and NASA astronauts Jonny Kim, Nichole Ayers, and Anne McClain. (Credit: NASA)
On Tuesday, before giving a “go” for undocking, teams evaluated weather factors at the splashdown site, including wind speeds, wave heights, rain, lightning and visibility, to ensure conditions meet safety criteria for both the astronauts and recovery crews.
AccuWeather meteorologists aren't tracking any weather concerns off the coast of San Diego that would delay the splashdown.
NASA will stream the undocking live beginning at 3 p.m. ET Wednesday.
The upcoming splashdown will mark just the second SpaceX crewed return off the California coast. Crew-10 became the first mission to splash down off the West Coast as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. All previous crewed Dragon returns occurred at one of seven designated locations off the Florida coast.
This return is also notable because it marks the first time in the International Space Station’s 25-year history that a crew has returned to Earth early due to a medical emergency.
“In our 25-year history of the International Space Station, we’ve had many models in our Monte Carlo analysis models that have said we should have had a medical evacuation approximately every three years in that 25-year history, and we’ve not had one to date and even in this case we’re erring on the side of caution," NASA Chief Health and Medical Officer Dr. James Polk said.
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying four members of NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 mission is pictured approaching the International Space Station 260 miles above southern Pakistan on Aug. 2, 2025. (Image: NASA)
Last week, NASA postponed a scheduled spacewalk and announced the early return of Crew-11, which includes NASA astronauts Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov.
NASA has not disclosed which crew member experienced the medical emergency, citing medical privacy. Polk said the astronaut is stable but requires additional evaluation using diagnostic equipment available only on Earth. Polk added that the medical event was unrelated to spacewalk preparations and was not the result of an injury.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the agency is also evaluating earlier launch opportunities for the Crew-12 mission, which had been scheduled to launch no earlier than mid-February.
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