WOMAN:
00:00:20
This is Crew 11 reentering after 167 days.
MARK STRASSMANN:
00:00:24
Suddenly, there it was, a SpaceX capsule streaking toward splashdown near predawn San Diego.
WOMAN:
00:00:31
Splashdown and mains are cut.
MARK STRASSMANN:
00:00:33
From this capsule, looking like a charred marshmallow, someone in this returning crew of four is grappling with an unknown medical issue. It's too significant to risk staying longer in space. In a first, NASA lopped weeks off the Space Station mission to evacuate the astronaut. It was a serious situation. The astronaut in question is fine right now, good spirits.
MARK STRASSMANN:
00:00:56
On board, two Americans, a Japanese, and a Russian.
MAN:
00:01:00
Undocking confirmed.
MARK STRASSMANN:
00:01:01
The astronauts pushed off the ISS last night to begin a roughly 10-hour return trip. But its origin goes back a full week, when the ISS crew radioed Houston for help.
KIMIYA YUI:
00:01:13
Do you have a crew sergeant?
MISSION CONTROL:
00:01:15
Yes, we'll get that in works.
MARK STRASSMANN:
00:01:17
All astronauts learn basic medical skills. Some astronauts, but not most, are also physicians by training. But this issue apparently went beyond onboard triage and equipment. And in a break with splashdown protocol, the returning crew choppered straight to a San Diego area hospital for overnight testing and evaluation. They would probably have told you that it's bittersweet, coming home. Astronauts really enjoy being in space right now. But I think they should take comfort in the fact that they executed extraordinarily well on an unexpected situation. A little more insight now, Tony-- that capsule was never a space ambulance. Because while the issue is serious, NASA says the affected astronaut does not need emergency care. And all the crew is expected to leave that San Diego hospital tomorrow and head home to Houston.
