Keith’s note: according to NASA: “NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission safely splashed down early Thursday morning in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, concluding a more than five-month mission aboard the International Space Station.”

Keiths note: I was on Deutsche Welle TV tonight talking about the crew 11 return in a few hours. [Audio] [Video] 15 Jan update: I just recorded another, post-splashdown interview with DW which should air this evening.

Keith’s note: I was on CNN This morning talking about the return of crew 11 and NASA’s new Administrator. [Audio]

Keith’s note: Dale Andersen and his astrobiology research team departed the Ultima ice airstrip where they arrived the other day – and drove their snowmobiles south to their research base location at Lake Untersee. I posted some slightly blurry pics yesterday but now that they have their Starlink up and operational, there’s more imagery and a video to show you. Oh yes – Dale Andersen is holding a ISS Crew 11 patch. He and fellow biologist, astronaut Zena Cardman, have worked together and had planned an antarctic/space conversation – but the crew’s early return cancelled that. More: Dale Andersen’s Astrobiology Antarctic Status Report: 12 January 2026: Overland Traverse Imagery – And Hello ISS

Keith’s note: This was posted last night from the International Space Station on LinkedIn by Mike Fincke: As many of you have heard, our crew will be coming home just a few weeks earlier than planned due to an unexpected medical issue. (Full note below)

Keith’s note: I live-tweeted the ISS crew telecon at @NASAWatch – highlights:

• Jared Isaacman: It is in the best interest of crew II to return early. Crew 12 will launch in mid-Feb. Evaluating earlier launch opportunities.
• JD Polk: no mention will be made of a particular astronaut or diagnosis. Need to respect privacy of astronaut. That astronaut is “absolutely stable”. The incident was sufficient enough that we would like to complete work-up on the ground with full suite of medical hardware. Not a emergency departure but there is a lingering risk.
• JD Polk: Previous incidents on ISS that guide response? JD Polk – yes – we have had capabilities on orbit that very always able to treat medical things that popped up during past 25 years.
• JD Polk: Previous incidents on ISS that guide response? JD Polk – yes – we have had capabilities on orbit that very always able to treat medical things that popped up during past 25 years.
• Jared Isaacman: Will there me a medical officer on ISS? All astronauts have extensive medical training. Having a M.D. on board would not really change anything. We are exercising capabilities that were engineered into ISS – at will.
• Jared Isaacman: Good question: what in space medical capabilities need to be in place for Moon and Mars missions. ISS already has a capability. We continue to learn. We will see if that informs on-orbit space ops – then to the Moon – then deep space missions to Mars.

Keith’s note: the other day Russia broke the only launch pad it has that can launch Soyuz or Progress missions to the ISS. Space social media is all over the place with what needs to be fixed and how long it will take, cost, etc. NASA has not said much of anything other than admitting “yea, we noticed”. SpaceX is doing just fine. Boeing Starliner – well, not so much and they are not going to be in a position to do much heavy lifting for a while until they prove – for the fourth time – that their system works. As was the case after the loss of Columbia we’re back to a single string of crew launch capability i.e. no back-up. And you will recall all of the arm waving and fuss that the incoming Administration had about two “stranded” astronauts on ISS. Cargo supply to ISS is better off (Dragon, Cygnus, JAXA). Yet, when you add in the ticking clock for splashing ISS and what a reimagined Artemis will look like and NASA is going to have its hands full in 2026. With fewer staff and a significantly smaller budget projection, this is going to be a challenge. ‘Per Aspera’ is going to be more pronounced as we do the whole ‘Ad Astra’ thing.

Keith’s note: ISS astronaut Zena Cardman will be participated in the 2025 Global Women’s Summit today. This could have only happened without coordination with NASA Public Affairs. This astronaut took time out of their scheduled to speak. Check the hourly cost of an astronaut’s time – fully loaded. Its not insignificant. Alas, the @NASA Twitter account with 87.8 million followers and all other agency social media outlets, NASA TV, NASA.gov etc. made zero mention. Yet another chance to reach outside the space bubble squandered.

Keith’s note: I find it interesting how two similar tweets at totally different scales / disciplines can often appear in sequence on social media. Look at the video in the left post – Molecular machines moving on a backbone – do so in a somewhat similar fashion to the way that the Mobile Servicing System moves on ISS. This is also somewhat of an example of NASA stovepiping. No one in NASA Science world or NASA Human Spaceflight world really thinks like this. I do – and lots of people would – if someone had the task of making NASA 21st century compliant in a world where emergent properties like this from different fields of study spawn new ideas and inventions. Funny thing – the thing happening on the left is part of what is studied inside the thing on the right – and NASA loves to crow about the end result biotech goodies form ISS – but never the synergies that might stop people for a moment to think differently – out of the box – in ways NASA has yet to do. Just sayin’

Keith’s note: according to “NASA cuts dozens of Marshall Space Flight Center-based ISS jobs“ by WHNT Huntsville: “Congressman Robert Aderholt’s office confirmed NASA has cut dozens of International Space Station jobs based at Marshall Space Flight Center. Aderholt’s office said several dozen contract employees connected with ISS were let go Friday. They said this is part of the transition as NASA prepares to deorbit the ISS in 2030. Operations at MSFC with the ISS include communicating with astronauts to conduct experiments through the ISS Payload Operations Integration Center.”

Keith’s note: NASA OIG just released this report: “NASA’s Management of ISS Extravehicular Activity Spacesuits“. In a nutshell: “To ensure the continued operations of the International Space Station and the safety of the crew, NASA and its spacesuit support contractor must ensure the suits used for spacewalks, designed more than 50 years ago, are well-maintained and reliable. The contractor, Collins Aerospace, has struggled to ensure sufficient life support components for the suits are delivered when needed and within budget and that meet quality expectations. While Collins’ performance over the last several years has declined, NASA has limited leverage to incentivize improved performance.”

Keith’s note: ICYMI missed the NASA CLD Directive post the other day NASA Commercial LEO Space Stations Acquisition Strategy you are not alone since NASA is not talking about it either. No mention of this major change is made by @NASA or NASA.gov or here on their CLD page. In a nutshell:

• Upon performing a reassessment, Space Operations Mission Directorate (SOMD) and CLDP have determined the CLD acquisition strategy must be altered. Instead of moving forward in Phase 2 with a firm fixed price contract for CLD certification and services, NASA will continue to support U.S industry’s design and demonstration of CLDs with multiple funded SAAs for the next phase. NASA will shift the formal design acceptance and certification planning acceptance from this SAA phase to a follow-on certification phase.
• Utilizing SAAs for the next phase better aligns with enabling development of US industry platforms. It provides greater resources for industry to align schedule with NASA’s needs. SAAs also provide more flexibility to deal with possible variations in funding levels without the need of potentially protracted and inefficient contract renegotiations.

Keith’s note: according to a 31 July 2025 NASA Directive titled “Directive on Revised Commercial Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Destinations (CLD) Phase 2 Acquisition Strategy“ (see below) says “To ensure mission continuity, affordability, and national alignment, this directive includes accountability measures, transition planning, and performance metrics for industry participation. The CLD Program shall support commercial viability while enabling NASA’s safe and sustainable transition from ISS operations.”

Keith’s note: While Russian media continues to post news stories, not a single world from NASA or Sean Duffy. So much for transparency. Or is the Administration up to something that prompts the Russians to say nice things? See “Russia and U.S. Agree to Extend International Space Station Operations to 2028“ in The Moscow Times.

Keith’s note: I was just on CNN International doing live commentary during the launch of Crew 11 to the International Space Station on board a SpaceX Falcon 9/Dragon [Audio]. I was on CNN again at 6:40 pm EDT. [Audio]

Keith’s note: I was just on Bloomberg TV for the SpaceX Crew 11 launch which was scrubbed due to weather. I stayed on and talked about NASA layoffs, budget issues, and Ted Cruz’s support for the International Space Station – and moving the Space Shuttle to Texas. Let’s see what happens tomorrow. [Audio]

Keith’s note: As reported the other day NASA is pulling out of the ISSRDC conference. China is signing up customers for its space station which it is expanding. The new customers cut their teeth on the ISS. But wait: the Administration is all about beating China everywhere. So, instead of using ISSRDC to globally promote the value of an American-led space station so as to keep a U.S. lead intact someone at NASA got the bright idea to pull NASA out of the conference all together causing it to be cancelled. Full ISS National Laboratory/CASIS statement below:

Keith’s note: Space analyst Laura Seward Forczyk just tweeted that the ISS Research & Development Conference has been cancelled. If this is true (and my sources tell me that it really is true) then NASA has decided to stop telling people why LEO research is important. The FY 2026 budget reduces research on ISS – but does not cancel it. OMB documents talk about commercial LEO space stations picking up on that work from ISS. So why not promote a generation of ISS research – the basis upon which the next LEO effort will be based? Clearly NASA has absolutely no idea what they are going to do after the budget cuts take effect and 1/3 of its work force has been RIFed. Oddly there’s the ‘Beat China’ meme in these budget documents and White House rhetoric. Fine. The best way to let China win in LEO is to diminish ISS as fast as possible and let China attract more customers in the interim years. This is baffling in the extreme. Embrace The Challenge y’all.

Keith’s note: when I was working at NASA on the Space Station program back in the day one things we’d tell students and the general public was that the space station would be one of the brightest things in the night sky and that it will fly over their house. I have gone outside more times than I can remember just to see it fly over. Ask my neighbors. I always explain to them how to find the flyover times online. When I was in Nepal at Everest in 2009 I went to the Spot the Station website to get ISS flyover times and showed the flyover to a bunch of Sherpa guides who had no idea that this was a thing you could do or that a person who lived up there was in Nepal with me. Now, in a memo sent out on 14 May 2025, NASA is taking the ISS tracking website offline and relying only on cell phone apps. The memo sent out to Spot the Station website uses says “the ability to find sighting opportunities near you will also no longer be available on the website.” At a time when everyone struggles to explain the value and impact of space exploration, shutting off a website like this is counterproductive in the extreme. Apps are great – but why delete a trusted source that has been of global utility for decades – especially one with text messages that have great utility for people with limited Internet access? Full Memo below.