NASA has announced when it will begin its first medical evacuation from the International Space Station after an astronaut fell ill with a “serious” but undisclosed condition.
The US space agency announced on social media late Friday that it would aim for the crew to depart the station no earlier than 5 p.m. EST on Wednesday, January 14, with a goal of landing near California early on the morning of Thursday, January 15, “subject to weather and recovery conditions.”
“After discussions with Chief Medical Officer Dr. James Polk and agency leadership, I have decided that it is in the best interest of our astronauts to return Crew 11 before their scheduled departure,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said during a briefing Thursday.
This is the first medical evacuation from the space station in its 25-year history. An astronaut at the orbiting laboratory has reportedly fallen ill with a “serious” but undisclosed problem. NASA also had to cancel its first spacewalk of the year.
“This was a serious medical issue,” Isaacman said. “That’s why we’re pursuing this path.”
The agency did not identify the astronaut or the medical problem, citing patient confidentiality.
“Since the astronaut is absolutely stable, this is not an emergency evacuation,” Polk said. “We don’t immediately disembark and bring the astronaut down, but that leaves that lingering risk and that lingering question as to the diagnosis, which means there is a lingering risk to that astronaut on board.”
Crew 11, led by U.S. Commander Zena Cardman, arrived aboard a SpaceX capsule in August. The group also includes NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov.
Three others, American astronaut Chris Williams as well as Russians Sergei Mikayev and Sergei Kud-Sverchkov, will continue to live and work at the station.
NASA plans to remove the aging and expensive to operate space station from orbit by the end of 2030 or early 2031.
