ORLANDO, Fla. — Crew-11’s early return to Earth went exactly as planned Thursday morning.
At 3:41 a.m. Eastern time, NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov splashed down off the coast of California.
NASA said one crew member’s medical issue prompted the early homecoming, but did not disclose details.
Welcome home, Crew-11! At 3:41am ET (0841 UTC), the @SpaceX Dragon spacecraft splashed down off the coast of San Diego, California. pic.twitter.com/8LFpdKwizc
— NASA (@NASA) January 15, 2026
The agency said the situation was stable, but serious enough to warrant what it called the first controlled medical evacuation from the International Space Station.
NASA reported that Crew-11 undocked from the station’s Harmony module at 5:24 p.m. EST on Wednesday.
Crew-11’s early departure came before the scheduled February arrival of Crew-12, leaving two cosmonauts and one NASA astronaut, Chris Williams, aboard the ISS.
The reduced crew size could temporarily limit research and delay some maintenance work, Florida Tech aerospace expert Dr. Don Platt told WFTV.
Ch. 9’s Q McCray has been monitoring this morning’s splashdown and will have full coverage beginning on Eyewitness News at 4:30 a.m.
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