If I send ships out on a FS then later recall can they still be phalanx if sent from planet and not moon?

I sent my fleet out on a colonization mission for fleet save then recalled. After the recall the fleet screen showed 9hrs till return, but less than an hour it was back at planet where it was sent from. This is the 2nd time this has happened to me. I think this post should have been placed in the Bu...