NASA hopes to return Crew 11 to Earth next week over medical issue

NASA said Friday that it plans to return the Crew 11 to Earth next week, just one day after announcing that a crew member had suffered a medical issue that would require the crew to shorten its trip to the International Space Station.

According to NASA, Crew 11 is targeting a departure from the space station aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour capsule “no earlier” than 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Jan. 14, with a splash down off the coast of California at about 3:40 a.m. Eastern Time on Jan. 15.

The scheduled return could change depending on weather conditions, NASA said.

“Mission managers continue monitoring conditions in the recovery area, as undocking of the SpaceX Dragon depends on spacecraft readiness, recovery team readiness, weather, sea states, and other factors,” NASA said in a statement Friday. “NASA and SpaceX will select a specific splashdown time and location closer to the Crew-11 spacecraft undocking.”

On Thursday, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman reported in a news conference that an unidentified member of Crew 11 was dealing with “a medical situation” that would require the crew to return to Earth sooner than anticipated.

Officials did not specify the nature of the medical issue, with Isaacman only saying that the crew member was “stable.”

Crew 11 includes commander Zena Cardman, astronaut Mike Fincke, Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov.

It launched to the space station on Aug. 1, and had planned to return on Feb. 20, after the arrival of their replacement, Crew 12.  

The situation first unfolded Wednesday, when NASA disclosed that a spacewalk had been canceled due to a “medical concern” with the crew member.

Chief Health and Medical Officer Dr. J.D. Polk said in Thursday’s news conference that the crew member was not injured or made ill by any operational aspect of living aboard the space station, adding that spacewalk preparations played no role in the incident.

The departure of Crew 11 would leave three people aboard the space station, NASA astronaut Chris Williams, and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev.