The U.S. space agency is now “evaluating” opportunities for an earlier launch to replace the crew
NASA Director Jared Isaacman has announced that the SpaceX Crew-11 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will be abbreviated, with the astronauts returning to Earth ahead of schedule because one team member requires medical care.
The four-member crew has been carrying out research on the ISS since August and was slated to stay until next month, following a handover phase after the arrival of the Crew-12 mission.
“Yesterday, January 7th, a single crew member on the station experienced a medical situation and is now stable,” NASA Director Jared Isaacman said during a Thursday briefing.
“I’ve decided it’s in the best interest of our astronauts to bring Crew-11 back ahead of their planned departure,” he said, declining to specify which team member had the medical issue due to privacy concerns.
NASA Chief Health and Medical Officer Dr. J.D. Polk noted that “this is not an emergent evacuation,” but said the agency wants to use its “full suite” of medical equipment to diagnose the astronaut once they return to Earth.
According to Isaacman, the U.S. agency is currently “evaluating their timeline” for earlier launch opportunities for the Crew-12 mission, which was originally scheduled for mid-February.
The Crew-11 members – Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, and Japan’s Kimiya Yui – are expected to splash down off the coast of California on Thursday, pending favorable weather conditions, the U.S. space agency said.
In the interim, the ISS will be maintained by Russian cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev, as well as NASA astronaut Chris Williams, who launched to the station aboard the Russian Soyuz MS-28 in November.
Roscosmos and NASA to extend space cooperation and joint operations aboard the ISS in July, ahead of the Crew-11 mission’s launch.
The space station, the largest ever constructed, has orbited Earth since 1998. It has continued to serve as a unique international scientific research platform despite years of political tensions over the Ukraine conflict.