A Crew Dragon capsule is due to undock from the International Space Station on Wednesday, carrying three astronauts and a cosmonaut back to Earth on an unprecedented medical evacuation mission.
The four known as Crew 11, made up of the astronauts Mike Fincke, Zena Cardman, Kimiya Yui and the Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, spent Tuesday packing up after a five-month stay aboard the ISS, which was cut short when one of them had an unspecified medical problem.
During a change-of-command ceremony on the ISS on Monday Fincke, 58, formally handed over his position as station commander to Sergey Kud-Sverchov, 42, from Russia.
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Fincke has described the decision by the head of Nasa, Jared Isaacman, to abandon the last five weeks of Crew 11’s rotation as “the right call, even if it’s a bit bittersweet”.
The Crew Dragon capsule will undock from the space station on Wednesday
NASA/AP
“First and foremost, we are all OK. Everyone on board is stable, safe and well cared for,” he wrote on social media, adding that they looked forward to “resolving any medical questions with the best care available”.
It is the first time that astronauts have had to come home for health reasons. The identity of the unwell astronaut has not been revealed, nor details of their medical issue, which cropped up last Thursday and forced the cancellation of a scheduled spacewalk in which Fincke and Cardman were due to work on maintenance tasks.
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During Monday’s ceremony on the live space-to-ground video feed, the Crew 11 commander Cardman, 38, said: “The timing of this departure is unexpected, but what was not surprising to me was how well this crew came together as a family to help each other and just take care of each other.
“This has been such an incredible experience. This is a place that I longed to see for myself. I could never have dreamed up a better crew to share this experience with.”
Cardman looked solemn as Fincke told her: “Zena, you’re a rock star, superstar, awesome star. It’s been a pleasure serving with you, watching you see Earth for the first time rising on the rocket and now it’s coming to an end where we get to go home. It’s bittersweet.”
Two members of the crew had been due to do repairs but their space walk was cancelled
REUTERS
Coming back to Earth “was a deliberate decision to allow the right medical evaluations to happen on the ground, where the full range of diagnostic capability exists,” Fincke added online.
“This decision was made calmly and carefully, with people at the centre. What stands out to me is how clearly Nasa cares about its people. Flight surgeons, engineers, managers and support teams came together quickly and professionally to chart the best path forward.”
The ISS carries a range of medical supplies and equipment for treating illness and injury, such as intravenous therapy kits, an ultrasound machine, a defibrillator and what Nasa calls a “robust pharmacy” that stocks over 190 drugs including pain relievers, motion sickness tablets, anti-psychotic drugs and anti-depressants.
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The space station orbits at an average altitude of 250 miles from Earth. Crew 11’s Dragon spacecraft is due to undock from the orbiting complex at 5pm EST on Wednesday, fire its engines at 2.40am EST on Thursday to drop it out of orbit and begin the fiery re-entry through Earth’s atmosphere.
Splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, off the California coast, is due at 3.40am Thursday. The capsule will then be scooped aboard a recovery vessel and the crew flown ashore.
Thanking ground-based teams, Cardman said: “You have been an incredible support through this whole expedition … it just has been the honour of a lifetime to share this with you.”
Fincke said: “It was really fun. Some of the jokes weren’t so good, but I’ll keep trying.”