SpaceX’s Crew-11 is returning from the International Space Station (ISS) early due to a medical concern with one of its astronauts. It’s the first recorded case in which NASA has decided to bring home a crew member ahead of time due to a health issue.
Crew-11 comprises Americans Michael Fincke and Zena Cardman, along with Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Russia’s Oleg Platonov. They arrived at the ISS in August last year and were due to return to Earth next month.
NASA has declined to reveal any details about the medical issue, and hasn’t said which astronaut is affected. But the recently appointed NASA chief Jared Isaacman described the issue as a “serious medical condition,” adding that it was he who made the decision to cut the mission short. NASA has described the astronaut’s condition as “stable.”
All four appeared in a livestream on Monday for the change-of-command ceremony ahead of their flight home aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule.
All seven of the ISS inhabitants spoke during the livestream, with Cardman acknowledging the unusual situation.
“Our timing of this departure is unexpected,” Cardman, on her first orbital mission, said in the livestream. “But what was not surprising to me was how well this crew came together as a family to help each other and just take care of each other, and this includes very much our teams on the ground — you have been incredible support through this whole expedition, this whole journey.”
NASA and SpaceX are targeting 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the Crew Dragon from the space station. If they’re able to stick to that schedule, the crew will splash down off the coast of California at about 3:40 a.m ET on Thursday, January 15.
NASA said it’s monitoring the weather in the splashdown site and will adjust timings if the conditions are forecast to deteriorate.