Information about the medical emergency that occurred after the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule landed in the ocean off San Diego on January 15 was shared in a limited way. Last month, NASA confirmed that the astronaut who caused the early return was Fincke.
The incident took place during dinner following preparations for a spacewalk on January 7. Fincke suddenly found himself speechless: “It was completely unexpected. It happened incredibly quickly.”
The astronaut stated that he did not feel any pain during this situation, which lasted about 20 minutes, and said that he felt normal afterwards. His crewmates immediately intervened and contacted flight doctors on Earth.
“My friends realized that I was in a difficult situation. Within seconds, everyone took action,” said Fincke, adding that he was first examined with the ultrasound device on the ISS and then underwent various tests.
The 59-year-old astronaut stated that he had not experienced a similar problem since that day and that it was the first time in his life that he encountered such a situation.
NASA has not yet been able to determine the exact cause of the incident. While the possibility of a heart attack has been ruled out, it is considered that speech loss may be related to the zero-gravity environment. While Fincke’s total time in space was 549 days, he had been on the ISS for approximately 5.5 months at the time of the incident.
The astronaut also stated that he could not share more details due to medical confidentiality. It was stated that NASA examined the health records of other astronauts to understand whether similar cases had occurred.
Fincke said he regretted that the 10th spacewalk was canceled due to the incident and the Crew-11 team had to return to Earth earlier than planned. However, he stated that his teammates supported him with the following words:
“This wasn’t you. This was extended. You didn’t let anyone down.”
