NASA’s First Medical Evacuation: SpaceX Crew‑11 Returns Early
CAPE CANAVERAL, fla. (AP) — An ailing astronaut returned to Earth with three others on Thursday, ending their space station mission more than a month early in NASA’s first medical evacuation.
NASA and the members of SpaceX Crew-11 are holding a news conference at 2:15 p.m. EST. Watch live in our video player above.
SpaceX guided the capsule to a middle-of-the-night splashdown in the Pacific near San Diego, less than 11 hours after the astronauts exited the International Space station. Their first stop was a hospital for an overnight stay.
“Obviously, we took this action (early return) as it was a serious medical condition,” NASA’s new administrator Jared Isaacman said following splashdown. “The astronaut in question is fine right now, in good spirits and going through the proper medical checks.”
It was an unexpected finish to a mission that began in August and left the orbiting lab with only one American and two Russians on board. NASA and SpaceX said they would try to move up the launch of a fresh crew of four; liftoff is currently targeted for mid-February.
NASA’s Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke were joined on the return by Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Russia’s Oleg Platonov. Officials have refused to identify the astronaut who developed the health problem last week or explain what happened, citing medical privacy.
While the astronaut was stable in orbit, NASA wanted them back on Earth as soon as possible to receive proper care and diagnostic testing. The entry and splashdown required no special changes or accommodations, officials said, and the recovery ship had its usual allotment of medical experts on board.
The astronauts emerged from the capsule, one by one, within an hour of splashdown. they were helped onto reclining cots and then whisked away for standard medical checks, waving to the cameras.Isaacman monitored the action from Mission Control in Houston,along with the crew’s families.
NASA decided to take the entire crew straight to a San Diego-area hospital following splashdown and even practiced helicopter runs there from the recovery ship. The astronaut in question was expected received in-depth medical checks before flying.
Published: 2026/01/29 07:58:12