For the first time in the International Space Station’s history, NASA said it was cutting short a crew mission after an astronaut “experienced a medical situation.”
“It’s in the best interests of our astronauts to return Crew-11 ahead of their planned departure,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman told reporters at a news conference Thursday, without naming the astronaut.
They will return to Earth in the “coming days” he said, adding that the “health and the well-being of our astronauts is always and will be our highest priority.”
U.S. astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke alongside Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Russia’s Oleg Platonov make up the SpaceX Crew-11 mission. Together they have spent about five months aboard the International Space Station conducting scientific research, and were due to undertake a space walk on Wednesday, the same day the crew member fell sick aboard the orbital complex.
NASA initially said it was postponing the spacewalk while teams “monitored a medical concern with a crew member currently living and working aboard the orbital laboratory.” The agency has not named the astronaut nor detailed the nature of the medical matter but said it “involved a single crew member.”
James Polk, chief health and medical officer, told reporters that “the astronaut is absolutely stable.”
“We have a very robust suite of medical hardware onboard the International Space Station,” he said, adding that health professionals wanted to complete a full medical workup of the individual back on Earth.
“We’re erring on the side of caution for the crew member and in their best interest,” Polk said. “This has nothing to do with the operational environment” on board the station, he added. “This was not an injury that occurred in the pursuit of operations.”
Crew members live and work aboard the International Space Station, orbiting Earth 16 times a day. It has been a hub of scientific discovery and international partnership, with more than 290 people representing 26 countries visiting since it was assembled in 1998.
Isaacman said that as Crew-11 would be returning sooner than planned, Crew-12, due to launch in mid-February, could be deployed earlier.
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