A Williamsburg astronaut was brought back to Earth on Thursday after a medical evacuation cut a five-month mission aboard the International Space Station short.
NASA did not comment on the severity of the medical issue, nor who was impacted, citing privacy concerns. All four members of the SpaceX Crew-11 were taken to a local hospital “for additional evaluation.”
Last year, while floating in space, Cardman took a few minutes to speak to News 3. She told us how after several days after the launch, she's still in awe.
Watch previous coverage: NASA astronaut from Williamsburg begins mission aboard Int'l Space Station
“I’m not sure that view is ever going to get old… When I first looked out the Cupola window, it was kind of twilight, so we had these really long shadows. We had these 3D textures of the clouds and you’re going over the ground so quickly. It takes us only 90 minutes to get all the way around the Earth," she said.
Along with Cardman, the Crew-11 team included NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov.
During their more than five months aboard the station, the crew marked the 25th anniversary of continuous operations on the International Space Station and completed more than 140 experiments.
According to NASA, the International Space Station “maintains a robust pharmacy and a suite of medical equipment onboard the space station to treat various conditions and injuries.”
“If a medical emergency requires a return to Earth, the crew will return in the spacecraft they launched aboard to receive urgent medical care on the ground,” NASA added.
Their return comes as NASA prepares for its first crewed lunar mission in 54 years. A four-person crew is scheduled to conduct a flyby of the moon in February 2026.
