NASA administrator Jared Isaacman announced the decision to bring the Crew-11 mission crew back to Earth ahead of schedule. The reason for this was health problems experienced by one of the astronauts.
The Crew-11 mission was launched in August 2025. Problems arose during an incident that occurred on January 7, 2026. NASA officials declined to disclose details about the identity of the person involved or the nature of the medical issue, citing privacy concerns, but added that the person’s condition is stable. The incident was not related to preparations for a spacewalk involving astronauts Zena Cardman and Michael Fink.
“It was a serious medical condition. That’s why we went down this path,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. However, he noted that the agency decided not to conduct an emergency return, which would have allowed the Crew Dragon spacecraft and its crew to return in a matter of hours.
“This is not an emergency descent from orbit,” Isaacman said. “We are currently looking for a suitable opportunity to use our existing landing sites and rescue vessels.”
Isaacman and other NASA representatives repeatedly refused to disclose any details about the incident at the briefing, except that it was not related to preparations for a spacewalk and apparently occurred suddenly. “The crew is highly trained and immediately came to the aid of their colleague,” said J.D. Polk, NASA’s chief medical officer.
In addition to Cardman and Finke, who are the commander and pilot of Crew-11, respectively, the mission includes astronaut Kimiya Yui from JAXA and Oleg Platonov from Roscosmos. Isaacman said that the fact that the Crew-11 mission was nearing the end of its stay on the ISS made the decision to return early relatively easy.
The launch of the next Crew-12 mission is currently scheduled for no earlier than February 15. Isaacman said NASA was considering an earlier launch, but did not disclose how much earlier it could be launched.
According to Spacenews
