Live footage taken off the coast of San Diego has shown the safe return of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 following a decision to return the astronauts early over a medical concern for a team member.
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft splashed down on January 15, 2026, 03:41 (EST), following the crew’s departure from the International Space Station (ISS) around 10 hours earlier.
Dragon’s four parachutes successfully deployed at about 6,000 feet in altitude after completing the deorbit burn and reentering the Earth’s atmosphere.
In a social media post, SpaceX welcomed back American astronauts Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman along with Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Russia’s Oleg Platonov.
Splashdown of Dragon confirmed – welcome back to Earth, @zenanaut, @AstroIronMike, @Astro_Kimiya, and Oleg! pic.twitter.com/2Yrgvy6DJO
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 15, 2026
Crew-11 was initially scheduled to return to Earth around February 20, 2026, following a six-month stay at ISS, but prior to a spacewalk on January 8, 2026, a medical concern for one of the astronaut’s health arose.
“NASA announced its decision to return the agency’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission to Earth from the International Space Station earlier than originally planned as teams monitor a medical concern with a crew member currently living and working aboard the orbital laboratory,” NASA said in a statement at the time.
It was the first time in the 25-year history of the International Space Station that a medical emergency in space has led to a crew returning home early.
Due to medical privacy, no further details were given about the astronaut’s condition, however NASA has continued to confirm that the crew member is “stable”.
Before Crew-11 departed ISS, there were seven people onboard the space station. The early return leaves only three onboard until the next SpaceX crew arrives.
