First-Ever ISS Medical Evacuation: NASA Prepares For Return | This Week In Spaceflight

This week in spaceflight brought major developments: For the first time in the ISS's 25-year history, NASA is returning the four Crew-11 astronauts (including Zena Cardman, Mike Fincke, Kimiya Yui, and Oleg Platonov) early due to a serious but stable medical issue with one crew member, marking a rare and cautious medical evacuation ahead of their originally planned late-February departure. Congress delivered welcome news by largely rejecting proposed deep cuts in the FY2026 NASA budget, with appropriators advancing a plan for approximately $24.4 billion — close to 2025 levels — preserving key science, exploration, and STEM programs while pausing the troubled Mars Sample Return mission.

In astronomy, billionaire philanthropists Eric and Wendy Schmidt unveiled the ambitious Lazuli Space Observatory, a privately funded 3-meter space telescope larger than Hubble, set to launch as early as 2028 with exoplanet-hunting capabilities via advanced coronagraph and spectrograph instruments. Other highlights include Impulse Space troubleshooting propellant issues on its upgraded Mira space tug after the Transporter-15 launch, NASA's power system activation milestone on the Lunar Gateway, historic test facility demolitions at Marshall Space Flight Center, ISRO's progress on Gaganyaan uncrewed tests, and more across launches, observatories, and global space efforts.

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🖋️ Written by Martijn Luinstra & Martin Smith.
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