NASA Announces Return Date for ISS Astronauts After Medical Evacuation Announcement

NASA announces return date for astronaut evacuation from the ISS

By Jackie Flynn Mogensen edited by Claire Cameron

NASA has revealed the return date for four International Space Station (ISS) crew members who are being evacuated from the station after one of them fell ill with an unknown illness.

The crew is expected to begin their return to Earth no earlier than 5:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday, January 14. The SpaceX capsule is then expected to land off the coast of California around 3:40 a.m. EST on Thursday, January 15.

The announcement follows the space agency’s decision Thursday to abort the Crew-11 mission after an unidentified crew member had an undisclosed “medical issue.” The medical evacuation is a first in the 25-year history of the space station.

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The exact return time depends on the weather and is subject to change. In a statement, NASA said mission managers were monitoring sea conditions in the spacecraft’s recovery area. “NASA and SpaceX will select a specific landing time and location closer to the undocking of the Crew-11 spacecraft,” the agency said in a statement.

NASA has not revealed the extent of the ill crew member’s medical problem. In revealing the decision to send the crew away early on January 8, Isaacman said the issue was a “serious medical issue”, but described the affected crew member as “stable”.

Crew 11 includes two NASA astronauts, mission commander Zena Cardman and pilot Mike Fincke, as well as Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov. They were expected to remain on the ISS until mid-February, when the replacement crew, Crew-12, is still expected to arrive.

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