A bright light with an extended tail seen burning across the night sky in the Bay Area early Thursday was no ordinary meteor.If you happened to catch the long streak across the sky after midnight Wednesday and were still wondering what it was, it was actually the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft r eturning four astronauts back to earth from the International Space Station.The streak was seen around 12:20 am Thursday and was very visible in the clear night sky. As KRON4 explains, this was the result of NASA's first ever medical evacuation from the ISS, with one of the four astronauts having experienced an undisclosed medical issue while onboard the ISS. NASA said that this was not considered a medical emergency.The Dragon Endeavor capsule undocking on Wednesday, via NASAThe Dragon Endeavor capsule made an 11-hour journey from the ISS, passed through the atmosphere, and splash-landed in the Pacific near San Diego about 20 minutes after the streak was seen across the sky.Officials did not say which of the four astronauts who returned was having the medical issue.The quartet consisted of NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov.All four were taken to a San Diego area hospital for observation, and the two NASA astronauts were then expected to fly back to Houston.Astronauts flying by San Francisco just after midnight for NASA’s first ever medical evacuation from the International Space Station. They made it from SF to San Diego in just 20 minutes for splashdown. Felicia Roche snapped this shot of the capsul streaking across the sky. pic.twitter.com/G7JbdB8VUd— Joey Horta (@JoeyHorta) January 15, 2026 As ABC News reports, the four astronauts made the return to Earth one month ahead of schedule.Cardman said of the situation, in an interview from space Wednesday, "What's not surprising to me is how well this crew came together, as a family, to help each other and just take care of each other."The astronauts held a change-of-command ceremony on the ISS Wednesday, leaving behind two Russians and a NASA engineer.Previously: Fireballs Seen In Evening Sky Thursday Over the Bay Were Just More Space Trash From Elon MuskPhoto via Leafa Wawryk ...read more read less