NASA officials said they plan to bring the crew aboard the International Space Station home early due to what the space agency called a "medical concern" with an unidentified crew member.
They said the astronaut's condition is stable and it is not an emergency evacuation, but they want to err on the side of caution and bring them home for additional testing. Crew 11 is expected to depart on the Crew Dragon Endeavour and return to Earth in the next few days. NASA officials said this is the first controlled medical evacuation in the space station's 25-year history.
The agency stressed Thursday that in the event of an emergency de-orbit, it would have the ability to bring astronauts home within a matter of hours.
The announcement Thursday evening came after NASA scrapped a planned spacewalk earlier in the day.
NASA Chief Health and Medical Officer Dr. James D. Polk said the ISS is equipped with a "robust suite of medical hardware," but it is lacking all the tools that would be needed for a more "complete workup" of a patient. He said the medical issue rose to the level where NASA would prefer to "complete that workup on the ground."
NASA previously said it was looking into "all options, including the possibility of an earlier end to Crew 11's mission." NASA did not specify a timetable for when a new crew would ascend to the ISS but said it was looking into possible earlier dates to launch Crew 12 to the space station.
NASA said it would not be identifying the astronaut in question or giving further details on the medical issue, but earlier said "the matter involved a single crew member who is stable."
Currently aboard the ISS are commander Mike Fincke, flight engineer Zena Cardman, Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov.
The crew was scheduled to remain aboard the ISS until mid-February.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Latest details after ICE officer kills woman in Minneapolis shooting
Video shows moments before ICE officer fatally shoots Renee Good in Minneapolis
Protesters gather after ICE shoots and kills woman in Minneapolis
latest_posts
- 1
What to know about new CDC deputy director who has been critical of COVID vaccines - 2The most effective method to Settle on Informed Conclusions about Senior Insuranc.
- 3Hamas Navy head, engineer of Khan Yunis tunnel network killed in Gaza, IDF confirms
- 4Some super-smart dogs can pick up new words just by eavesdropping
- 51,000-mile Saharan dust storm, from the sky and from the ground
- Trump administration plan to reduce access to some student loans angers nurses, health care groups
- Rights group: At least 2,500 deaths during protest crackdown in Iran
- Step by step instructions to Guarantee Your Fender bender Legal counselor has Areas of strength for a Record
- Australia PM tries to reassure public as panic buying sees fuel demand surge 400% in some regions
- Make your choice for the bird that catches your heart!
- A definitive Manual for the Over-Ear Earphones
- Manual for Tracking down the Immaculate Magnificence of Focal Asia
- Massive supernova explosion may have created a binary black hole
- China's 1st reusable rocket explodes in dramatic fireball during landing after reaching orbit on debut flight
