The Secret Base of the Rebel Black Dot Society: The Stars My Destination: Crew-11

Monday, August 3, 2026

The Stars My Destination: Crew-11

Better Late than Never | Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

The Space Age
1 August 2025-15 January 2026: Commander Zena Cardman (N.A.S.A.), Pilot Mike Fincke (N.A.S.A.), Mission Specialist Kimiya Yui (J.A.X.A.), & Mission Specialist Oleg Platonov (Roscosmos) lifted off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center's LC-39A aboard the Crew Dragon Endeavour (C206) atop a Falcon 9 rocket. The quartet docked with the International Space Station for an intended six-month mission to the orbital laboratory.

Approximately one month before Crew-11's intended return, Fincke (age fifty-eight) suffered a medical emergency that left him unable to speak for twenty minutes. This prompted an early return from the I.S.S. After one hundred sixty-six days on orbit, the Endeavour splashed down in the Pacific Ocean & was recovered by the M.V. Shannon.

Fincke was a veteran of three previous spaceflights (Soyuz TMA-4 for Expedition 9, Soyuz TMA-13 for Expedition 18, & S.T.S.-134) & Yui was a veteran of a previous spaceflight (Soyuz TMA-17M for Expeditions 44 & 45); Cardman & Platonov were rookies. Crew-11 served as members of I.S.S. Expeditions 73 & 74.

Crew-11 was the sixth flight of the Endeavour C206.

Bonus! Song o' the Day: Crew-11 & the Endeavour
Suburban Legends, "Emergency" from Day Job (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Monday, August 3, 2026

The Stars My Destination: Crew-11

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