SpaceX’s Crew-11 is returning early from the International Space Station (ISS) due to medical concerns for one of its astronauts. It is the first documented case in which NASA has decided to bring a crew member home early for health reasons.
Crew-11 consists of the Americans Michael Fincke and Zena Cardman as well as the Japanese Kimiya Yui and the Russian Oleg Platonov. They arrived at the ISS in August last year and were scheduled to return to Earth next month.
NASA declined to provide details about the medical issue, nor did it say which astronaut was affected. But recently appointed NASA chief Jared Isaacman described the problem as a “serious medical condition” and added that he had made the decision to abort the mission. NASA described the astronaut’s condition as “stable.”
All four appeared on a livestream Monday for the change of command ceremony before their flight home aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule.
All seven ISS residents spoke during the livestream, with Cardman acknowledging the unusual situation.
“Our timing for this departure is unexpected,” Cardman said in the livestream on her first orbital mission. “But what didn’t surprise me was how well this crew came together as a family to help each other and just take care of each other, and that especially includes our teams on the ground – they’ve been an incredible support throughout this entire expedition, this entire journey.”
NASA and SpaceX plan to undock the Crew Dragon from the space station on Wednesday, January 14 at 5 p.m. ET. If they can meet this schedule, the crew will splash off the coast of California around 3:40 a.m. ET on Thursday, January 15th.
NASA said it is monitoring the weather at the watering hole and will adjust times if conditions are forecast to worsen.
