NASA to bring ISS Crew-11 astronauts back to Earth Saturday
Crew-11 mission astronauts wave as they depart the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building en route to launch complex LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on August 1, 2025. From L/R are Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, NASA astronaut and mission commander Zena Cardman and JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui.
Gregg Newton | Afp | Getty Images
NASA will bring Crew-11 astronauts back to Earth from the International Space Station on Saturday, earlier than planned, due to a medical situation with an un-named crew member, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced Thursday.
NASA said earlier that it had postponed a spacewalk outside the ISS due to a medical situation that arose on Wednesday.
The spacewalk would have seen ISS Commander Mike Fincke and flight engineer Zena Cardman exit the space station for 6.5 hours to install routing cables and other power equipment to support a new solar array.
The agency said that it would not disclose the crew member’s name due to medical privacy. The crew member’s condition is considered stable, Isaacman said Thursday.
The Crew-11 astronauts’ return was planned for March 2026.
Fincke and Cardman are members of NASA’s Crew-11 alongside colleagues from space agencies in Japan and Russia, Kimiya Yui and Oleg Platonov.
The crew launched from NASA Kennedy Space Center on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket on August 1, 2025.
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