Change of Command of International Space Station to Occur

This long-exposure photograph from the International Space Station was taken 263 miles above the Indian Ocean at approximately 11:02 p.m. local time. The image reveals clouds stretching into a soft blur beneath the orbital outpost, a bright airglow blanketing Earth’s horizon, and faint star trails arcing across the night sky. The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft is visible in the lower foreground, framed by a window aboard the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft.

NASA

NASA will provide live coverage of the International Space Station change of command ceremony starting at 2:35 p.m. EST Monday, Jan. 12. on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and the agency’s YouTube channel. As Crew-11 prepares to depart from the space station, NASA astronaut Mike Fincke will hand command of Expedition 74 aboard the orbital complex to Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov.

Following Crew-11’s departure on Wednesday, Jan. 14, NASA astronaut Zena Cardman and Fincke, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov will splash down off the coast of California at approximately 3:40 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 15. NASA and SpaceX are reviewing weather conditions in the splashdown zones, which currently are favorable for return.

On Jan. 8, NASA announced its decision to return the agency’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission to Earth from the space station earlier than originally planned as teams monitor a medical concern with a crew member currently living and working aboard the orbital laboratory, who is stable. Due to medical privacy, it is not appropriate for NASA to share more details about the crew member.

NASA will share more details about its coverage plans in the coming days.

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