NASA, SpaceX target Jan. 14 undocking for Crew-11 return to Earth

WASHINGTON

NASA and SpaceX said Friday they are targeting no earlier than 5 pm ET (2200GMT) on Jan. 14, for the undocking of the space agency’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International Space Station, pending weather conditions.

NASA said Thursday that it decided to return the crew to Earth earlier than originally planned after teams began monitoring a "medical concern" involving one of the members.

Crew-11 includes NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov.

If the undocking proceeds as planned, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is expected to splash down off the coast of California at 3.40 am ET (1130GMT) on Jan. 15, said NASA.