ISS beneficial properties new commander as Crew-11 prepares midweek departure – Spaceflight Now

NASA astronaut Mike Fincke wrapped up his time as commander of the International Space Station on Monday, Jan. 12, after simply over a month within the place.

His time within the function is wrapping up a month sooner than anticipated after NASA determined to medically evacuate the 4 members of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission resulting from a “serious medical condition” with one of many 4 that turned evident on Jan. 7. NASA management decided the right diagnostic and remedy couldn’t happen onboard the ISS and determined to carry the crew dwelling early.

During a change of command ceremony broadcast from the ISS, Fincke, 58, handed over the symbolic key to the house station to Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, 42. He known as the early departure “bittersweet.”

“I just want to say thank you for the first part of Expedition 74, but also the last part of Expedition 73. It’s been really amazing,” Fincke stated. “My good friend Scott Kelly says that spaceflight is the largest group sport and it’s true. We bought a good time.

“Everybody really rose to the occasion for our expeditions and it’s been really a pleasure to be here.”

Fincke thanked his crew mates individually, wrapping up his feedback by calling fellow NASA astronaut and fellow member of Crew-11, Zena Cardman, 38, “a rock star, superstar, awesome star.”

“It’s been a pleasure serving with you, watching you see Earth for the first time, riding on the rocks and now it’s coming to an end, where we get to go home. It’s bittersweet,” Fincke stated.

Crew-11 is scheduled to undock from the space-facing port of the Harmony module at 5:05 p.m. EST (2205 UTC) on Wednesday, Jan. 14, and splash down off the coast of California round 3:40 a.m. EST on Thursday, Jan. 15.

The early departure of Crew-11 will depart the house station with simply three folks onboard for the primary time since three-person expeditions ceased being the usual for the ISS in May 2009.

NASA astronaut Chris Williams, 42, a Harvard-educated doctor, would be the lone American onboard the house station till Crew-12 arrives someday in February. In a brand new replace on Monday, NASA confirmed that Crew-12 might be on station for a nine-month, long-duration mission.

“Chris, you’re going to be the [U.S. Orbital Segment] lead in just a few minutes. You are the perfect guy for this. You’re going to rock it and roll it. It’s going to be amazing,” Fincke stated to Williams. “It was great to have all the handover time with you and to really become a true friend.”

Kud-Sverchkov, the station’s new commander, flew to house alongside Williams and fellow cosmonaut Sergey Mikayev, 39, onboard Soyuz MS-28 on Nov. 27, 2025. This is his second spaceflight after launching to the ISS in May 2020 onboard Soyuz MS-17.