{"id":503788,"date":"2026-02-27T20:50:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T20:50:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/503788\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T20:50:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T20:50:16","slug":"astronaut-who-sparked-space-station-evacuation-is-named-as-he-applauds-surgeons-and-crew-mates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/503788\/","title":{"rendered":"Astronaut who sparked space station evacuation is named as he applauds surgeons and crew mates"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mike Fincke has identified himself as the NASA astronaut whose medical condition<\/a> prompted the space agency\u2019s first-ever medical evacuation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The 58-year-old spaceflight veteran said Wednesday that he was the ailing crew member last month aboard the International Space Station.<\/p>\n

He did not say what was wrong with him but explained that his condition quickly stabilized thanks to his crewmates and flight surgeons on the ground.<\/p>\n

Fincke said he\u2019s doing well now.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpaceflight is an incredible privilege, and sometimes it reminds us just how human we are,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

\"He<\/p>\n

He did not say what was wrong with him but explained that his condition quickly stabilized thanks to his crewmates and flight surgeons on the ground. (Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Fincke launched with three others on a SpaceX flight last summer. Their mission came to an early end on Jan. 15<\/a>, a week after he experienced what he called a \u201cmedical event that required immediate attention.\u201d<\/p>\n

The health concern also forced the cancellation of a planned spacewalk by Fincke and another NASA astronaut.<\/p>\n

Fincke, a retired Air Force colonel chosen by NASA as an astronaut in 1996, has logged 549 days in space over four missions.<\/p>\n

He wrote in a statement, \u201cOn Jan. 7, while aboard the International Space Station, I experienced a medical event that required immediate attention from my incredible crewmates. Thanks to their quick response and the guidance of our NASA flight surgeons, my status quickly stabilized.<\/p>\n

\"Fincke,<\/p>\n

Fincke, a retired Air Force colonel chosen by NASA as an astronaut in 1996, has logged 549 days in space over four missions (AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter further evaluation, NASA determined the safest course was an early return for Crew-11\u2014not an emergency, but a carefully coordinated plan to be able to take advantage of advanced medical imaging not available on the space station. On Jan. 15, we splashed down off the coast of San Diego after an amazing five-and-a-half-month mission.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am deeply grateful to my fellow Expedition 74 members\u2014Zena Cardman, Kimiya Yui, Oleg Platonov, Chris Williams, Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, and Sergei Mikayev\u2014as well as the entire NASA team, SpaceX, and the medical professionals at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla near San Diego. Their professionalism and dedication ensured a positive outcome.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m doing very well and continuing standard post-flight reconditioning at NASA\u2019s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Spaceflight is an incredible privilege, and sometimes it reminds us just how human we are. Thank you all for your support.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mike Fincke has identified himself as the NASA astronaut whose medical condition prompted the space agency\u2019s first-ever medical…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":503789,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[201038,49,48,201036,9693,89456,201037,29502,307,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-503788","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-air-force-colonel","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-flight-surgeons","12":"tag-international-space-station","13":"tag-medical-condition","14":"tag-medical-event","15":"tag-mike-fincke","16":"tag-nasa","17":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=503788"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503788\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/503789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=503788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=503788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=503788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}