After a health issue led to their evacuation, NASA astronauts from Crew-11 safely splashed off the coast of California on Thursday morning. Their departure prematurely ended their mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS), leaving the orbital laboratory temporarily short-staffed.
On Monday, Crew-11 pilot Mike Fincke handed over command of the space station to Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov. Fincke and his three crew members left the ISS on Wednesday, leaving Kud-Sverchkov, fellow cosmonaut Sergei Mikaev, and NASA’s Chris Williams as the station’s only remaining members.
Three is the minimum number of astronauts needed to keep the ISS operational. Although it is not inherently dangerous to use ISS with a group of bones, it will certainly affect the daily operation.
Reduced staff, reduced operations
The ISS has been busy for the past 25 years. In the first nine years of operation, the nominal staff size was only three. It has since expanded to seven to increase scientific research and efficiency—a larger staff means more hands for maintenance and laboratory work.
The ISS system is designed to maintain that level of continuous human presence, but missions don’t go as planned, as in the case of Crew-11’s medical evacuation. The space station will now operate with a crew of three until the next crew of astronauts, Crew-12, arrives in February.
For now, Kud-Sverchkov, Mikaev, and Williams will have to focus their attention on critical maintenance and operations of the space station, with little time for research. They will also avoid performing any spacewalks that are not absolutely necessary for safety, as it is legal to have two crew members perform an EVA while the other two provide support from inside the ISS.
Williams will also manage NASA’s ISS side alone while Kud-Sverchkov and Mikaev will oversee the Roscosmos side.
“Chris is trained to do all the tasks we’re going to ask him to do on the vehicle,” NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya said at a press conference on January 8. Kshatriya added that ground control teams and Williams’ Russian crew will also be available to assist him.
Provided Crew-12 launches on time, Williams, Kud-Sverchkov, and Mikaev will be alone on the ISS for about a month. All three are expected to remain on the space station until the summer, completing an eight-month mission.
What’s next for Crew-11?
Now that the Crew-11 astronauts are back, all four are likely to undergo routine medical examinations to begin the rehabilitation process. Spending long periods in low gravity leads to muscle atrophy, bone loss, and fluid changes, meaning ISS astronauts must undergo weeks of rehabilitation back on Earth.
An ailing astronaut whose condition caused the evacuation of Crew-11 will now receive diagnostic attention that was not available on the ISS. NASA has not disclosed which astronaut was affected, or any details about their condition, but has repeatedly said they are stable.
This was the first time in the 25-year history of the ISS that NASA had to perform a medical evacuation. The agency’s ability to bring Crew-11 home safely and quickly shows it is always prepared for the unexpected, as are the ISS astronauts. NASA officials expressed great confidence in Williams, Kud-Sverchkov, and Mikaev’s ability to maintain the space station while awaiting the arrival of Crew-12.
