The four members of SpaceX's Crew-11 returned to Houston on Jan. 16 after the first medical evacuation from the International Space Station. They splashed down off Long Beach on Jan. 15, spent a day at a local medical facility, and flew to Johnson Space Center for postflight care. NASA says all crew members are stable but is withholding medical details to protect privacy. The ISS remains staffed by a three-person skeleton crew until Crew-12 arrives; Artemis 2 preparations are underway with a possible Feb. 6 launch.
Crew-11 Returns to Houston After First-Ever Medical Evacuation From the ISS
The Crew-11 astronauts return to Ellington Field in Houston on Jan. 16, 2026. From left to right: NASA astronauts Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman, Japan’s Kimya Yui and cosmonaut Oleg Platonov. | Credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz
The four astronauts of SpaceX's Crew-11 mission arrived at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston on Jan. 16, a day after an unprecedented medical evacuation from the International Space Station (ISS).
Crew-11 — NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japan's Kimiya Yui, and cosmonaut Oleg Platonov — splashed down off the coast of Long Beach, California, early on Jan. 15. After splashdown they spent a day and a night at a local medical facility before flying on to Houston for standard postflight care.
"The four crew members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission have arrived at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, where they will continue standard postflight reconditioning and evaluations," NASA officials wrote in an emailed update on Jan. 16.
"All crew members remain stable. To protect the crew’s medical privacy, no specific details regarding the condition or individual will be shared."
Crew-11 launched in early August for a planned six-month stay aboard the ISS. Last week, one crewmember experienced a medical issue in orbit that prompted NASA to end the mission roughly five weeks early and return the crew safely to Earth.
Recovery teams attend to Crew-11's Crew Dragon capsule shortly after splashdown on Jan. 15, 2026. | Credit: NASA/SpaceX
While the station operates with a reduced team, a three-person skeleton crew remains aboard: NASA's Chris Williams and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikayev. The ISS will not return to its typical seven-person complement until SpaceX's Crew-12 arrives.
Crew-12 is currently scheduled to launch on Feb. 15, though NASA and SpaceX are evaluating whether the timeline can be moved up. Separately, NASA is preparing the Artemis 2 lunar flyby: the Space Launch System rocket and Orion capsule are slated to roll out to Kennedy Space Center's launch pad on Jan. 17, with a possible launch as early as Feb. 6 if rollout and testing proceed smoothly.
What Happens Next: Crew-11 will continue postflight medical evaluations and reconditioning in Houston. NASA is protecting individual medical privacy while monitoring the crew's recovery and adjusting station staffing and upcoming launch timelines as needed.
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