New Delhi: Hours from now, in a first for the International Space Station and National Aeronautics and Space Administration, four astronauts of Crew 11 from the Commercial Crew Program will make their atmospheric re-entry and splash-down off the California coast, aboard the Crew Dragon capsule ‘Endeavour’.
The astronauts of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission were called back to Earth earlier than planned due to a medical concern with one of the astronauts. NASA astronaut Mike Fincke handed over command, during which he transferred the symbolic key to the International Space Station (ISS) to Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov on 12 January.
The crew practised Dragon deorbit procedures on a computer and trained to use respirators in the unlikely event of an ammonia leak. Preparing for their departure, mission managers have given the “go” for their return. The crew is set to undock from the Space Station’s Harmony Module, at its space-facing port, around 1:30 am IST on 15th January.
NASA had confirmed an early return for four Crew 11 members from the International Space Station. Announcing the return in a press conference, NASA officials stressed that this was not an urgent but a precautionary evacuation, due to diagnostic limitations onboard the ISS.
Earlier on 7 January, a spacewalk scheduled for the next day was postponed. “The matter involved a single crew member, who is stable. Due to medical privacy, it is not appropriate for NASA to share more details about the crew member,” NASA said.
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Mission update
NASA’s Crew 11 astronauts Zena Cardman and Finke, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov arrived at the ISS in August last year for a 6-month mission. They are set to splash down off the coast of California on Thursday, 15 January, with the undocking of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft scheduled for 14 January.
SpaceX and NASA selected a specific splashdown time and location closer to the Crew-11 spacecraft’s undocking. Mission managers continue to monitor conditions, as this timeline is subject to weather conditions and other operational factors.
The operation will be broadcast live by NASA. A splashdown is expected around 2:00 pm IST, followed by a post-landing media conference on 15 January.
Post the departure of Crew 11, three astronauts, NASA’s Chris Williams and Russian cosmonauts Sergei Mikayev and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov will remain aboard the ISS to continue operations, while full mission support will continue from Earth.
While the ISS typically operates with a crew of seven, it has operated with just three astronauts in its early days—and will do so again until the 15 February launch of NASA’s 12th rotational mission. The mission, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft, will carry astronauts Jessica Meir (Commander) and Jack Hathaway (pilot) of NASA, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot (mission specialist), and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev (mission specialist) for a nine-month research mission.