It was the first time in 65 years of human spaceflight that NASA cut short a mission for medical reasons.
WASHINGTON — The NASA astronaut who suffered a medical incident aboard the International Space Station last month is sharing more details about what led to the early return.
Mike Fincke said he experienced a medical event while aboard the ISS in January that led to his early return to Earth. In a statement shared Wednesday by NASA, Fincke said the incident occurred Jan. 7 and required immediate attention from his crewmates.
“Thanks to their quick response and the guidance of our NASA flight surgeons, my status quickly stabilized,” Fincke said.
NASA later determined that the safest course of action was an early return for Crew-11, though the move was not considered an emergency. The decision was made to allow Fincke access to advanced medical imaging not available aboard the space station.
Fincke and three crewmates splashed down off the coast of San Diego on Jan. 15, ending their mission more than a month ahead of schedule. It was the first time in 65 years of human spaceflight that NASA cut short a mission for medical reasons.
At the time, officials declined to identify which astronaut had experienced the health issue, citing medical privacy. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said following the splashdown that the astronaut was “fine” and in good spirits.
Fincke thanked his Expedition 74 crewmates — Zena Cardman, Kimiya Yui, Oleg Platonov, Chris Williams, Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikayev — along with NASA teams, SpaceX and medical professionals at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla.
“I’m doing very well and continuing standard post-flight reconditioning at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston,” Fincke said. “Spaceflight is an incredible privilege, and sometimes it reminds us just how human we are.”
The mission had launched in August and was originally expected to last about six months.