NASA has postponed today's spacewalk at the ISS due to a "medical concern" with a crew member.
New orgs are reporting an email update that says - "Safely conducting our missions is our highest priority, and we are actively evaluating all options, including the possibility of an earlier end to Crew-11’s mission. These are the situations NASA and our partners train for and prepare to execute safely."
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https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2026/01/07/nasa-postpones-jan-8-spacewalk/
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Station Commander Mike Fincke and Flight Engineer Zena Cardman were scheduled to conduct their mission’s first spacewalk at 8 a.m. EST today. The duo’s primary task during the 6.5 hour spacewalk was to install a modification kit and routing cables for a future roll-out solar array. Secondary tasks included installing jumper cables, taking hardware photos, and collecting microorganism samples.
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2026/01/07/expedition-74-ready-for-thursday-spacewalk-and-continuing-research/
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At a press conference this evening, NASA leadership announced its decision to bring Crew 11 home early due to the medical situation with one of the crew members. Date TBD.
https://www.youtube.com/live/ffcV3jCwwPk
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/commercialcrew/2026/01/08/nasa-shares-latest-update-on-international-space-station-operations/
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NASA has set a target date for the ISS Crew-11’s early return to earth.
Undocking: 5 p.m. EST, Wednesday, Jan. 14
Splashdown: 3:40 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 15, off the coast of CA
Crew: NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov.
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2026/01/09/nasa-spacex-set-target-date-for-crew-11s-return-to-earth/
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Post on LinkedIn by Commander Mike Fincke -
"As many of you have heard, our crew will be coming home just a few weeks earlier than planned due to an unexpected medical issue.
First and foremost, we are all OK. Everyone on board is stable, safe, and well cared for. This was a deliberate decision to allow the right medical evaluations to happen on the ground, where the full range of diagnostic capability exists. It’s the right call, even if it’s a bit bittersweet."
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7416022070469378048/
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NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov have departed the International Space Station aboard the Crew-11 Dragon spacecraft.
Splash down off the coast of San Diego at 3:41 a.m. EST tomorrow morning.
Video of the undocking sequence an hour ago - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IakRgsTYUDY
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AkaSci 🛰
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