Nasa announces timeline of astronauts’ early departure from ISS due to ‘serious’ medical issue | International Space Station
NASA has announced when the first medical evacuation from the International Space Station will begin after an astronaut fell ill with a “serious” but undisclosed problem.
US space agency announced It was stated on social media Friday night that the crew will aim to leave the station before 5pm EST on Wednesday, January 14, and will aim to land near California in the early morning hours of Thursday, January 15, “subject to weather and recovery conditions.”
“After discussions with chief medical officer Dr. James Polk and leaders across the agency, I have determined that it is in the best interest of our astronauts to return Crew-11 ahead of their scheduled launch,” said Jared Isaacman, NASA administrator. briefing on Thursday.
This is the first medical evacuation from the space station in its 25-year history. An astronaut in the orbital laboratory has reportedly fallen ill with a “serious” but undisclosed problem. NASA also had to cancel the first spacewalk of the year.
“This was a serious medical condition,” Isaacman said. “That’s why we’re moving forward on this path.”
The agency did not identify the astronaut or the medical problem, citing patient privacy.
“This is not an emergency evacuation as the astronaut is absolutely stable,” Polk said. “We’re not immediately getting off the ship and landing the astronaut, but that leaves lingering risk and lingering question as to what the diagnosis is, and that means there’s some lingering risk to the astronaut on board.”
Crew-11The spaceship, led by US commander Zena Cardman, arrived in the region in August with a SpaceX capsule. The group also includes NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov.
The other three, US astronaut Chris Williams and Russians Sergei Mikayev and Sergei Kud-Sverchkov, will continue to live and work on the station.
NASA plans to deorbit the aging space station, which is expensive to operate, in late 2030 or early 2031.
