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A sick astronaut returns Earth On Thursday, they, along with three others, ended their space station mission more than a month early in what was NASA’s first medical evacuation.
space exploration technologies corp. Guiding a space capsule that splashed down in the middle of the night Pacific Ocean Less than 11 hours after astronauts exited the capsule, near San Diego international space station.
A mission that began in August ended unexpectedly, leaving only one orbiting laboratory American There were also two Russians on board. NASA and SpaceX said they will work to expedite the launch of four new astronauts; the current target is mid-February.
NASA’s Zena Cadman and Mike Fink returned along with Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Russia’s Oleg Platonov. Officials declined to identify the astronaut who had the health issue or explain what happened, citing medical privacy.
While the astronauts are stable in orbit, NASA wants them to return to Earth as soon as possible to receive appropriate care and diagnostic testing. No special changes or accommodations were required for entry and splashdown, and the rescue ship was staffed with the usual medical experts, officials said. It’s unclear when the astronauts will fly from California to the base in Houston. The circumstances of Platonov’s return to Moscow are also unclear.
NASA has repeatedly stressed over the past week that this is not an emergency. On January 7, astronauts became ill or injured, prompting NASA to cancel Cadman and Finck’s spacewalk the next day, ultimately leading to an early return. This is the first time NASA has cut short a space flight for medical reasons. The Russians did this decades ago.
The space station has previously carried three astronauts and sometimes only two. NASA said spacewalks, even in an emergency, would not be possible until the next group of astronauts arrives, which includes two Americans, a Frenchman and a Russian cosmonaut.
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