Anastronautinneedofdoctors'caredepartedtheInternationalSpaceStationwiththreecrewmatesonWednesdayinNASA'sfirstmedicalevacuation.

ThefourreturningastronautsfromtheUS,RussiaandJapanareaimingforanearlyThursdaymorningsplashdowninthePacificnearSanDiegowithSpaceX.Thedecisioncutsshorttheirmissionbyoveramonth.

Ourtimingofthisdepartureisunexpected,NASAastronautZenaCardmansaidbeforethereturntrip,butwhatwasnotsurprisingtomewashowwellthiscrewcametogetherasafamilytohelpeachotherandjusttakecareofeachother.

Officialsrefusedtoidentifytheastronautwhoneededcarelastweekandwouldnotdivulgethehealthconcerns.

Theailingastronautisstable,safeandwellcaredfor,outgoingspacestationcommanderMikeFinckesaidearlierthisweekviasocialmedia.Thiswasadeliberatedecisiontoallowtherightmedicalevaluationstohappenontheground,wherethefullrangeofdiagnosticcapabilityexists."

LaunchedinAugust,Cardman,Fincke,JapansKimiyaYuiandRussiasOlegPlatonovshouldhaveremainedonthespacestationuntillateFebruary.ButonJan.7,NASAabruptlycanceledthenextdaysspacewalkbyCardmanandFinckeandlaterannouncedthecrewsearlyreturn.Officialssaidthehealthproblemwasunrelatedtospacewalkpreparationsorotherstationoperations,butofferednootherdetails,citingmedicalprivacy.Theystresseditwasnotanemergencysituation.

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NASAsaiditwouldsticktothesameentryandsplashdownproceduresatflightsend,withtheusualassortmentofmedicalexpertsaboardtherecoveryshipinthePacific.Itwasanothermiddle-of-the-nightcrewreturnforSpaceX,cominglessthan11hoursafterundockingfromthespacestation.NASAsaiditwasnotyetknownhowquicklyallfourwouldbeflownfromCaliforniatoHouston,hometoJohnsonSpaceCenterandthebaseforastronauts.

OneUS andtwoRussianastronautsremainaboardtheorbitinglab,just11/2monthsintoaneight-monthmissionthatbeganwithaSoyuzrocketliftofffromKazakhstan.NASAandSpaceXareworkingtomoveupthelaunchofafreshfour-personcrewfromFlorida,currentlytargetedformid-February.

Computermodelingpredictedamedicalevacuationfromthespacestationeverythreeyears,butNASAhasn'thadoneinits65yearsofhumanspaceflight.TheRussianshavenotbeenasfortunate.In1985,SovietcosmonautVladimirVasyutincamedownwithaseriousinfectionorrelatedillnessaboardhiscountrysSalyut7spacestation,promptinganearlyreturn.AfewotherSovietcosmonautsencounteredlessserioushealthissuesthatshortenedtheirflights.

ItwasthefirstspaceflightforCardman,a38,biologistandpolarexplorerwhomissedoutonspacewalking,aswellasPlatonov,39,aformerfighterpilotwiththeRussianairforcewhohadtowaitafewextrayearstogettospacebecauseofanundisclosedhealthissue.CardmanshouldhavelaunchedlastyearbutwasbumpedtomakeroomonthewaydownforNASAsButchWilmoreandSuniWilliams,whowerestucknearlyayearatthespacestationbecauseofBoeingscapsuleproblems.

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Fincke,58,aretiredAirForcecolonel,andYui,55,aretiredfighterpilotwiththeJapanAirSelf-DefenseForce,wererepeatspacefliers.Finkehasspent11/2yearsinorbitoverfourmissionsandconductedninespacewalksonpreviousflights,makinghimoneofNASAstopperformers.Lastweek,Yuicelebratedhis300thdayinspaceovertwostationstays,sharingstunningviewsofEarth,includingJapansMountFujiandbreathtakingauroras.

Iwanttoburnitfirmlyintomyeyes,andevenmoreso,intomyheart,YuisaidonthesocialplatformX.Soon,Itoowillbecomeoneofthosesmalllightsontheground.

NASAofficialshadsaiditwasriskiertoleavetheastronautinspacewithoutpropermedicalattentionforanothermonththantotemporarilyreducethesizeofthespacestationcrewbymorethanhalf.UntilSpaceXdeliversanothercrew,NASAsaiditwillhavetostanddownfromanyroutineorevenemergencyspacewalks,atwo-personjobrequiringbackuphelpfromcrewinsidetheorbitingcomplex.

ThemedicalevacuationwasthefirstmajordecisionbyNASAsnewadministratorJaredIsaacman.Thebillionairefounderofapaymentprocessingcompanyandtwo-timespaceflierassumedtheagencystopjobinDecember.

Thehealthandthewell-beingofourastronautsisalwaysandwillbeourhighestpriority,Isaacmansaidinannouncingthedecisionlastweek.

(FRANCE 24 with AP)

Originally published on France24