NASA Identifies Astronaut Who Suffered Medical Emergency on Space Station

Astronaut Mike Fincke has been identified as the member of Crew-11 who recently suffered a mission-ending medical emergency aboard the International Space Station.

NASA disclosed his identity and shared a statement from Fincke on Feb. 25.

“On Jan. 7, while aboard the International Space Station, I experienced a medical event that required immediate attention from my incredible crewmates,” Fincke said. “Thanks to their quick response and the guidance of our NASA flight surgeons, my status quickly stabilized.”

The space agency confirmed that a serious medical concern occurred on the orbiting outpost on that day, just before Fincke and NASA astronaut Zena Cardman were supposed to undertake a 6.5-hour spacewalk.

“After further evaluation, NASA determined the safest course was an early return for Crew-11—not an emergency, but a carefully coordinated plan to be able to take advantage of advanced medical imaging not available on the space station,” Fincke said.

While not classified as an emergency evacuation, the early return of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 on Jan. 15 was still the first medically triggered early departure in the space station’s 25-year history. Fincke and Cardman returned to Earth with Kimiya Yui of the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Roscosmos Cosmonaut Oleg Platonov after over five months in space.

Fincke’s identity and details of the medical issue remained private due to medical privacy laws. NASA made clear that it was releasing the statement at Fincke’s request. While he came forward to confirm his identity in the matter, he didn’t reveal exactly what medical issue he experienced.

Still, he confirmed that he was received by the Scripps Memorial Hospital near San Diego after splashdown, and that he was doing “very well,” continuing through standard post-flight reconditioning at Johnson Space Center in Houston.

“I am deeply grateful to my fellow Expedition 74 members—Zena Cardman, Kimiya Yui, Oleg Platonov, Chris Williams, Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, and Sergei Mikayev—as well as the entire NASA team, SpaceX, and the medical professionals at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla near San Diego,” Fincke said in his statement. “Their professionalism and dedication ensured a positive outcome.”

Crew-11 marked Fincke’s fourth trip to space, so far accumulating 549 days in space. The retired Air Force colonel has flown aboard the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, NASA’s final space shuttle flight, and the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. He was also trained to be a pilot for the Boeing Starliner. Across his three previous missions, he served as the space station’s commander and performed nine spacewalks totaling 48 hours and 37 minutes.