Crew-11 Returns Station to Normal Operations

As the International Space Station (ISS) enters its final decade of operations, NASA and its international partners continue to rely on a steady cadence of Commercial Crew missions to sustain long-duration science, maintenance, and crew rotation in low Earth orbit. With the launch of Crew-11 on August 1, 2025 – ISS operations continue to tell the tale of humanity’s longest lived orbital outpost. The transition from Crew‑10 to Crew‑11 marks a pivotal phase in this evolving story—one that highlights not only the seamless handover between astronaut teams but also the increasing complexity and ambition of the research and technology demonstrations underway aboard the orbiting laboratory. Expedition 73/74 will see critical reboost maneuvers and cutting-edge biomedical investigations and autonomous system trials for future deep space applications. This handover of international crews represents a continued commitment to collaboration, expanded commercial roles, and careful preparation for the ISS’s eventual retirement.

Launched on March 14 at 7:03 pm, 2025 aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center, Crew-10 was NASA’s 10th operational human rotation mission under the Commercial Crew Program and the 11th Crew Dragon flight carrying astronauts to the ISS. The crew, commanded by NASA’s Anne McClain and flown by pilot Nichole Ayers, along with JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, was a shorter duration expedition than is typical for station, facing schedule compounding stemming back to Starliner CFT. They docked at the Harmony‑forward port on March 16, 2025 UTC (around 12:04 a.m. ET), initiating a short handover with Expedition 72 members — which enabled the crew of Starliner’s Crew Flight Test, astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams  to return to Earth around March 19, 2025 with the Crew-9 Complement.

Once onboard the ISS, Crew‑10 began a roughly four‑month science expedition involving more than 200 experiments and technology demonstrations. Research goals included material flammability testing, physiological and psychological studies on deep‑space mission readiness, lunar navigation strategies, and outreach via ham radio with students on Earth. McClain and Ayers ventured outside the station on May 1, 2025 and installed a mounting bracket for a future Roll Out Solar Array onto the P4 truss 2B mass canister, relocated a communications antenna used to communicate with spacecraft during arrivals and departures, installed a jumper cable to provide power from the P6 truss to the Russian Orbital Segment, and removed bolts from a micrometeoroid cover. Additionally, the crew supported maintenance activities and participated in international research collaborations aboard station, notably collaborating with ISRO onboard the station for the first time during the Axiom-4 mission.

Crew‑11, which launched on August 1 at 11:43:01 AM, brought four astronauts to the ISS as part of Expedition 73/74. The crew comprises rookie NASA commander Zena Cardman, pilot Mike Fincke (on his fourth mission), JAXA mission specialist Kimiya Yui (on his second flight), and Roscosmos mission specialist Oleg Platonov (on his first spaceflight). Zena Cardman, alongside fellow NASA astronaut Stephanie Wilson, were originally scheduled to launch Crew‑11 representing the 11th operational crew rotation mission in NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The spacecraft, Endeavour, is making its sixth flight to the station as part of the Crew-11 mission, supported by Booster 1094, which supported the Axiom-4 mission to the space station earlier in the summer. The vehicle threaded several weather cells to hit the mark for Friday’s launch, having aborted their attempt the day prior due to a violation of the cumulus cloud rule. Following a successful liftoff, the booster made a pinpoint landing on LZ-1 – the last Falcon 9 to do so as the company’s lease on the pad is expiring. Boosters will continue to land at LZ-2 for the time being, before moving to a new complex later this year.

Once the crew is settled into their post on station, the astronauts will get to work repairing and maintaining the orbiting laboratory. During their stay, a crew of two will venture outside and remove H fixtures on the 3B mass canister on the S6 Truss, install the telescopic booms on 2B mass canister which were left undone on the previous spacewalk, replace Camera 9 and bring it back inside, install a router on the Camera 9 group for future spacewalks, replace a light, and install a DC to DC Converter Unit jumper cable. This spacewalk was originally planned for the complement of Crew-10, but was moved due to scheduling constraints. As part of long-term preparation for Artemis lunar missions, Crew‑11 will perform simulated lunar landing scenarios using multi‑screen and handheld controls, assess astronaut spatial awareness under different gravity conditions, and contribute experiments on plant cell division, viral behavior, and nutrient generation in space. 

The short duration stay of the Crew-10 mission was driven by several unique criteria, most notably the need for ISS reboost and the schedule compaction of Starliner CFT. The ISS has two ports on the front end of the station known as Pressurized Mating Adapters, capped by International Docking Adapters. Both Crew Dragon and Starliner, alongside Cargo Dragon, use these ports during their stays on station. Starliner’s extended stay bumped several missions around in station logistics, requiring the use of several PMAs for crew vehicle use. The upcoming Commercial Resupply Mission, CRS-33, will require the forward port on the Harmony module, requiring Crew-10 to be clear ahead of its arrival. 

CRS-33 is unique in SpaceX’s Cargo Dragon lineup; earlier Cargo Dragon flights lacked the dedicated hardware to independently boost the station, and relied on the Russian segment alongside the Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft and the Space Shuttle before it. CRS‑33 aims to supplement International Space Station operations as it represents the first Cargo Dragon mission to carry a “boost trunk”, a special attachment that delivers extra propellant—enabling the spacecraft to actively perform orbital re‑boosts of the ISS, counteracting atmospheric drag during its stay. The ISS, while perched in orbit, still encounters atmospheric drag from the tenuous layers of Earth’s protective envelope, necessitating periodic reboosts to keep the facility on the correct orbit. With CRS‑33, the Dragon spacecraft will function as both a cargo carrier and logistics vehicle capable of reboosting the ISS multiple times over its multi-month mission duration. By integrating this boost trunk, CRS‑33 enhances operational flexibility for station maintenance and extends the ISS’s orbital life, while assisting other reboost capable vehicles such as Cygnus and the Russian Progress.

SpaceX is eager to pursue technologies related to command and attitude control of the ISS, as they bear responsibility for the safe disposal of the station at the end of its usable life. The United States Deorbit Vehicle (USDV) is a specialized spacecraft being developed by SpaceX to safely deorbit the ISS around 2030, should a commercial ISS successor be ready in time. Unlike previous vehicles used for reboost or disposal support, the USDV is purpose-built to execute a series of controlled deorbit maneuvers, ensuring the ISS is guided precisely into Earth’s atmosphere to disintegrate over a remote part of the South Pacific Ocean, avoiding populated areas. Based on a modified Cargo Dragon design, it will feature an enlarged trunk and additional Draco thrusters offering significantly more propellant and control authority than existing spacecraft. Unlike previous spacecraft systems built by commercial entities for the space agency, NASA will own and operate the USDV. The vehicle is expected to dock with the ISS well in advance of the station’s retirement, remaining attached and dormant until the final phase of the mission, when it will initiate a series of burns to gradually lower the station’s altitude and control its reentry. 

Upon arrival on Station, Crew-11 will continue to ensure a continuous presence aboard the orbiting laboratory, while preparing to go further into space with the Artemis program. NASA’s commitment to international collaboration, even under a tense political environment, has remained steadfast – with the return of European astronauts currently scheduled for Crew-12. With the crew on their way, the crew of Expedition 73 is surely ready to greet some familiar faces. 

Edited by Nik Alexander