International Space Station crew set to return to Earth
Updated ,first published
An astronaut who required NASA’s first medical evacuation safely reentered Earth after splashing down with his crew in the Pacific Ocean on Thursday evening (AEDT), returning from the International Space Station in a SpaceX capsule more than a month before they were expected to return home.
Astronauts from the US, Russia and Japan splashed down in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego at 7.41pm (AEDT), a week after the sick astronaut, who has not yet been formally identified, cited health concerns that triggered the evacuation. NASA administrator Jared Isaacman shared that the astronaut is “in good shape” and will provide updates on his health “when appropriate.”
“This mission brought Space Crew-11 home safely… they are all safe and in good spirits,” Isaacman told reporters at a news conference two hours after landing.
“Even though we had to evacuate the crew early, NASA was ready… that’s why we train, that’s what NASA is best at.”
A pod of dolphins greeted Zena Cardman, Mike Fincke, Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Russia’s Oleg Platonov at the splash pad and remained in the area as NASA rescue ships circled the capsule. The bounce completed a 167-day space mission, with all but two of those days spent aboard the International Space Station.
Small boats deployed at the expected landing site approached the spacecraft immediately after splashdown, and a speedboat crew checked for hazardous gases before approaching to attend to the astronauts.
The capsule was lifted onto a large rescue ship at 8:09 p.m., and the astronauts were lifted from the ocean to dry land. The astronauts were lowered into a hangar at the end of the ship, below the helipad at the top of the ship, and pulled up to an exit point at the end of the hangar.
Fincke became the first crew member to exit the capsule and breathed fresh air for the first time since August at 20:28.
It arrived nine minutes after the capsule was opened. A SpaceX medical advisor was the first to enter the cabin, followed by NASA photographer Bill Ingalls, who located the crew before additional personnel smoothed the astronauts’ exit path.
Cardman was the next to appear, followed by Yui and Platonov; The last of these was the last to leave the capsule at 8.35pm.
The crew was slid down a ramp and taken on stretchers to a nearby medical tent.
They were transported to a medical facility in the San Diego area and are expected to be monitored for at least the next 24 hours before being flown back to NASA headquarters in Houston, where they will be reunited with their families.
Officials last week declined to identify the astronaut who needed care and did not disclose the nature of the health concerns.
Minutes after arriving, Cardman, Fincke, Yui, and Platonov attended a medical conference via radio communication with a surgeon. The content of the conference, which lasted less than five minutes, remained confidential.
Fincke, the outgoing space station commander, said via social media this week that the ailing astronaut was “sound, safe and well cared for.” “This was a deliberate decision to allow accurate medical assessments to be made where all diagnostic capacity was available.”
“This time of our departure is unexpected, but what wasn’t surprising to me was how well this team came together as a family to help each other and just take care of each other,” Cardman said before his return trip.
Light winds and small waves presented an “excellent landing opportunity” for the astronauts, according to NASA Deputy Administrator of Space Operations Joel Montalbano, who praised the extensive work required for the crew to return safely.
“This was a great effort from every angle,” Montalbano said. “It was a great landing [opportunity] … and it was great to see the team take advantage of that.”
Launched in August, Cardman, Fincke, Yui and Platonov were supposed to remain on the space station until the end of February. However, on January 7, NASA abruptly canceled Cardman and Fincke’s spacewalk the next day and later announced the crew’s early return.
Officials said the health issue was unrelated to spacewalk preparations or other station operations but gave no further details, citing medical privacy. They emphasized that it was not an emergency.
NASA said it would stick to the same entry and ejection procedures at the end of the flight, with the usual assortment of medical experts aboard the rescue ship in the Pacific.
This will be another midnight crew return for SpaceX, occurring less than 11 hours after departing the space station. Because the spacecraft’s orbit is aligned with the landing point, they will remain in orbit for more than nine hours.
NASA said it wasn’t yet known how fast all four would fly from California to Houston, home to the Johnson Space Center and the astronauts’ base.
Fincke, 58, a retired Air Force colonel, and Yui, 55, a retired fighter pilot with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, are regular spaceflighters. Fincke spent more than a year in orbit on four missions and performed nine spacewalks on previous flights, making him one of NASA’s top performers.
Last week, Yui celebrated her 300th day in space with a two-station stay, sharing spectacular views of Earth, including Mount Fuji in Japan and the breathtaking aurora borealis.
“I want to burn it into my eyes and even more into my heart,” Yui said on social platform X. “Soon I’ll be one of those little lights on the ground.”
NASA officials had said leaving an astronaut in space for another month without proper medical attention was riskier than temporarily reducing the size of the space station crew by more than half.
Until SpaceX sends another crew, NASA has said it should pull back from any routine or even emergency spacewalks, a two-person job that requires support.
with AP
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Daniel Lo Surdo is a breaking news reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He previously ran The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age’s national news live blog.Connect via email.
