Anastronautinneedofdoctors’caredepartedtheInternationalSpaceStationwiththreecrewmatesonWednesdayinNASA’sfirstmedicalevacuation.
ThefourreturningastronautsfromtheUS,RussiaandJapanareaimingforanearlyThursdaymorningsplashdowninthePacificnearSanDiegowithSpaceX.Thedecisioncutsshorttheirmissionbyoveramonth.
Ourtimingofthisdepartureisunexpected,NASAastronautZenaCardmansaidbeforethereturntrip,butwhatwasnotsurprisingtomewashowwellthiscrewcametogetherasafamilytohelpeachotherandjusttakecareofeachother.
Officialsrefusedtoidentifytheastronautwhoneededcarelastweekandwouldnotdivulgethehealthconcerns.
Theailingastronautisstable,safeandwellcaredfor,outgoingspacestationcommanderMikeFinckesaidearlierthisweekviasocialmedia.Thiswasadeliberatedecisiontoallowtherightmedicalevaluationstohappenontheground,wherethefullrangeofdiagnosticcapabilityexists.”
LaunchedinAugust,Cardman,Fincke,JapansKimiyaYuiandRussiasOlegPlatonovshouldhaveremainedonthespacestationuntillateFebruary.ButonJan.7,NASAabruptlycanceledthenextdaysspacewalkbyCardmanandFinckeandlaterannouncedthecrewsearlyreturn.Officialssaidthehealthproblemwasunrelatedtospacewalkpreparationsorotherstationoperations,butofferednootherdetails,citingmedicalprivacy.Theystresseditwasnotanemergencysituation.
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NASAsaiditwouldsticktothesameentryandsplashdownproceduresatflightsend,withtheusualassortmentofmedicalexpertsaboardtherecoveryshipinthePacific.Itwasanothermiddle-of-the-nightcrewreturnforSpaceX,cominglessthan11hoursafterundockingfromthespacestation.NASAsaiditwasnotyetknownhowquicklyallfourwouldbeflownfromCaliforniatoHouston,hometoJohnsonSpaceCenterandthebaseforastronauts.
OneUS andtwoRussianastronautsremainaboardtheorbitinglab,just11/2monthsintoaneight-monthmissionthatbeganwithaSoyuzrocketliftofffromKazakhstan.NASAandSpaceXareworkingtomoveupthelaunchofafreshfour-personcrewfromFlorida,currentlytargetedformid-February.
Computermodelingpredictedamedicalevacuationfromthespacestationeverythreeyears,butNASAhasn’thadoneinits65yearsofhumanspaceflight.TheRussianshavenotbeenasfortunate.In1985,SovietcosmonautVladimirVasyutincamedownwithaseriousinfectionorrelatedillnessaboardhiscountrysSalyut7spacestation,promptinganearlyreturn.AfewotherSovietcosmonautsencounteredlessserioushealthissuesthatshortenedtheirflights.
ItwasthefirstspaceflightforCardman,a38,biologistandpolarexplorerwhomissedoutonspacewalking,aswellasPlatonov,39,aformerfighterpilotwiththeRussianairforcewhohadtowaitafewextrayearstogettospacebecauseofanundisclosedhealthissue.CardmanshouldhavelaunchedlastyearbutwasbumpedtomakeroomonthewaydownforNASAsButchWilmoreandSuniWilliams,whowerestucknearlyayearatthespacestationbecauseofBoeingscapsuleproblems.
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Fincke,58,aretiredAirForcecolonel,andYui,55,aretiredfighterpilotwiththeJapanAirSelf-DefenseForce,wererepeatspacefliers.Finkehasspent11/2yearsinorbitoverfourmissionsandconductedninespacewalksonpreviousflights,makinghimoneofNASAstopperformers.Lastweek,Yuicelebratedhis300thdayinspaceovertwostationstays,sharingstunningviewsofEarth,includingJapansMountFujiandbreathtakingauroras.
Iwanttoburnitfirmlyintomyeyes,andevenmoreso,intomyheart,YuisaidonthesocialplatformX.Soon,Itoowillbecomeoneofthosesmalllightsontheground.
NASAofficialshadsaiditwasriskiertoleavetheastronautinspacewithoutpropermedicalattentionforanothermonththantotemporarilyreducethesizeofthespacestationcrewbymorethanhalf.UntilSpaceXdeliversanothercrew,NASAsaiditwillhavetostanddownfromanyroutineorevenemergencyspacewalks,atwo-personjobrequiringbackuphelpfromcrewinsidetheorbitingcomplex.
ThemedicalevacuationwasthefirstmajordecisionbyNASAsnewadministratorJaredIsaacman.Thebillionairefounderofapaymentprocessingcompanyandtwo-timespaceflierassumedtheagencystopjobinDecember.
Thehealthandthewell-beingofourastronautsisalwaysandwillbeourhighestpriority,Isaacmansaidinannouncingthedecisionlastweek.
(FRANCE 24 with AP)
Originally revealed on France24