After a health issue, four astronauts are set to leave the International Space Station early, with a pre-dawn Pacific splashdown planned for Thursday, Jan. 15.

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying about 40 payloads, including NASA's Pandora exoplanet satellite, is scheduled to lift off from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base during a 57-minute window that opens at 8:19 a.m. EST (1319 GMT and 5:19 a.m. local California time).

Skywatchers across the Bay Area will have a rare early-morning opportunity Thursday as a NASA SpaceX Dragon spacecraft makes its final pass over California before returning to Earth.