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

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

According to NASA, Crew 11 is aiming for departure from the space station aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavor capsule “no earlier than” at 5 p.m. Eastern Time on January 14, with a splashdown off the coast of California around 3:40 a.m. Eastern Time on January 15.

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

“Mission leaders continue to monitor 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 landing time and location closer to the undocking of the Crew-11 spacecraft.”

On Thursday, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman reported in a press conference that an unidentified member of Crew 11 was facing “a medical situation” that would require the crew to return to Earth earlier than planned.

Officials did not specify the nature of the medical problem, with Isaacman saying only 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 August 1 and was scheduled to return on February 20, after the arrival of its replacement, Crew 12.

The situation first came to light on Wednesday, when NASA revealed that a spacewalk had been canceled due to a “medical issue” with the crew member.

Chief Medical Officer Dr. JD Polk said during Thursday’s news conference that the crew member was not injured or made ill by any operational aspect of life aboard the space station, adding that preparations for the spacewalk 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.