Overview
- Fincke, five and a half months into Crew‑11, said the January 7 episode left him unable to speak for about 20 minutes before he felt normal.
- Crewmates called flight surgeons within seconds and used the station’s ultrasound as they assessed him in orbit.
- NASA postponed the planned spacewalk and ordered an early return on SpaceX Dragon, the first medical evacuation from the station.
- Doctors ruled out a heart attack and Fincke said he was not choking, yet the cause remains unknown after hospital checks and ongoing tests.
- NASA is reviewing other astronaut health records for similar events, and the incident also canceled a spacewalk that would have been Zena Cardman’s first.