SpaceX Crew-11

Launch

The eleventh SpaceX operational mission in the Commercial Crew Program was scheduled for launch on July 31, 2025, but was scrubbed due to weather.^[9] After a quick turn around, SpaceX was able to launch the mission the next day on August 1, 2025.^[11] The mission marked the final landing of a Falcon 9 booster on Landing Zone 1, which was then retired.^[11] At 14 hours, 43 minutes, and 10 seconds, it is the fastest Crew Dragon rendezvous to date.^[12]

Medical incident

On January 7, 2026, NASA shortened the mission due to an undisclosed "medical situation" experienced by one of its crew members.^[13][14] The incident led to the cancellation of two planned spacewalks on January 8 and 15, including preparations for installation of ISS Roll-Out Solar Arrays (iROSAs) and other maintenance tasks on the Harmony module and the station’s S6 and S4 truss.^[15] At a news conference on January 8, 2026, NASA administrator Jared Isaacman announced that Crew-11 would return to Earth earlier than planned due to the medical situation.^[16] Crew-11 ultimately splashed down on January 15, 2026 about a month earlier than planned.^[17][18][19]

In a statement on February 25, 2026, Fincke revealed that he experienced the medical event. He said that the event required immediate attention from his crewmates, and thanks to their actions under the guidance of NASA flight surgeons, he was quickly stabilized. He said that the decision to return home early was driven by a desire to take advantage of advanced medical imaging not available on the space station. After splashdown, Fincke was treated at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla and stated that he is subsequently doing "very well".^[14]