"NASA astronaut Mike Fincke has handed command of the ISS to Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov as Fincke and the rest of Crew-11 are scheduled to head back to Earth on Wednesday. The departure is more than a month earlier than planned and comes after NASA's decision to end the Crew-11 mission due to a medical concern involving one of the four astronauts. The issue could not be addressed using the facilities aboard the orbiting outpost."
"The exact nature of the medical issue remains unclear, and NASA is protecting the privacy of the astronaut concerned. The ailing astronaut is stable, and managers have not had to perform an emergency deorbit to bring the individual back to Earth. This will be the first time in the ISS's history of crewed operations that a mission is curtailed due to crew illness."
Mike Fincke handed command of the ISS to Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov as Crew-11 prepares for an early return to Earth on Wednesday. The mission is ending more than a month early because of a medical concern affecting one of the four astronauts that could not be resolved aboard the station. A planned spacewalk scheduled for January 8 was postponed and the crew's return was confirmed later that day. Crew Dragon's hatch closure, undocking, and splashdown times depend on recovery-site weather, with splashdown expected early on January 15. The affected astronaut is stable and no emergency deorbit was required. NASA aims to advance Crew-12 to reduce low staffing, though additional training will limit schedule gains; Artemis II retains a February launch opportunity.
Read at Theregister
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]