NASA
NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, commander of Crew-11, was the first to exit the capsule
Four astronauts from the International Space Station returned to Earth a month ahead of schedule, after one of them developed a serious medical condition aboard the orbital outpost.
NASA confirmed that the Dragon spacecraft, from SpaceX, which transported North American astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike FinckeJapanese astronaut and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, docked off the coast of San Diego at 00:41 local time (08:41 in Portugal).
For privacy reasons, the space agency did not identify the sick crew member, whose health led to that of the ISS, but stated that he is in a stable condition.
It’s the first time NASA has interrupted a mission to EEI due to a health problem.
Before the return trip, Zena Cardman declared that “the timing of this departure is unexpected. But which didn’t surprise me was the way this crew came together as a family to help each other and just look out for each other.”
Shortly after ditching, teams on the recovery ship and two fast boats secured the SpaceX Dragon and hoisted it onto the deck, allowing the crew to be brought on board.
According to , NASA now plans to take the four astronauts to a nearby hospital for medical examinations.
In an aftermath of Dragon’s ditching, NASA’s new director, Jared Isaacmanstated that “the crew member in question is fine. Although this was the first time we had to bring a crew back slightly ahead of schedule, NASA was prepared. This is exactly what we train for and It’s NASA at its best“.
“Space flights will always entail some degree of uncertaintythat is the nature of exploration. Fundamentally, this is why we are in space, to learn. This is why NASA prepares for the unexpectedso that we are ready to respond decisively and safely.”
The Crew Dragon capsule, called Endeavour, parachuted into calm waters of the Pacific Ocean after a descent of more than 10 hours from the space station. In a call to SpaceX flight control at the time of the landing, Cardman said: “It’s good to be back home“.
The crew began their mission aboard the space station last August and spent 167 days in orbit.
On January 8, Isaacman announced that they would be brought back early because one of the astronauts was facing a “serious medical condition” that required treatment on land. NASA detailed at the time that the medical problem in question had not involved “an injury occurring in the course of operations”.
In an emergency, NASA can bring the crews back within hours, but the astronauts were a few days training Chris Williamsthe only astronaut from the North American space agency who remains on the station, in the operations that he would take over.
Williams and the Russian cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov e Sergey Mikaev, who arrived at the space station in November on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, remain on the ISS.
The agency canceled a spacewalkl scheduled for last week by Cardman and Fincke, the station commander, during which they were to have installed new equipment outside the station.
The spacewalk It wasn’t critical. in terms of time and will be transferred to the next mission, he stated Joel Montalbanoa NASA official.
O reduced number of crew currently on the station means that the astronauts will not perform any routine or even emergency spacewalks, which require two people to be carried out with crucial support from the crew inside.
The space agency’s models predict that it may be necessary to carry out a ISS medical evacuation every three yearsbut NASA hasn’t performed any in 65 years of spaceflight.
There were, however, other evacuations of space stations: in 1985, Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Vasyutin was forced to return early after developing a serious illness aboard the Salyut 7 space station.
The space station is operated as a partnership between NASA and the Russian space agency Roscosmos, which take turns transporting crews to the station and back. It’s from few areas where cooperation remains between the two countries.
