Sick astronaut, rest of crew to undock from ISS, NASA says

(NEW YORK) — The NASA International Space Station (ISS) crew that includes a sick astronaut are on track to return to earth Thursday morning.

On Jan. 8, NASA said it was ending the current the ISS mission out of abundance of caution because of a medical situation involving one of the astronauts on board.

“I’ve come to the decision that it’s in the best interest of our astronauts to return Crew-11 ahead of their planned departure,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said during a press conference on Jan. 8.

Crew-11 is scheduled to undock from the ISS at 5:05 p.m. ET Wednesday before splashing down off the coast of California around 3:41 a.m. Thursday, according to NASA.

On Tuesday, the crew prepared by packing cargo, reviewing return-to-Earth procedures and transferring hardware aboard the ISS, the agency said.

They will return to Earth aboard the SpaceX Dragon Endeavor — the same spacecraft that brought them to the station.

An emergency evacuation was not ordered because the astronaut was stable, Dr. James “JD” Polk said during the Jan. 8 conference. The astronaut remains in stable condition, NASA said.

The mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which partners with private companies to deliver humans to and from the ISS.

Crew-11 includes two American astronauts, a Japanese astronaut and a Roscosmos cosmonaut. They traveled to the ISS on Aug. 1 and were scheduled to stay until mid-to-late February.

It is the “11th crew rotation mission of SpaceX’s human space transportation system and its 12th flight with astronauts,” according to NASA.

In November, the crew marked a historic milestone for the ISS — the 25th anniversary of the first crew that arrived at the station.

NASA did not say which astronaut was impacted nor did it describe the individual’s condition or symptoms due to privacy concerns.

It was the first time in 25 years that a medical evacuation was necessary, Polk said.

The unprecedented moves comes after NASA announced it had postponed planned spacewalk with the two American astronauts scheduled for the morning of Jan. 8.