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Space Mission Aborted: Medical Issue Forces Return - Videos from The Weather Channel
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Space Mission Aborted: Medical Issue Forces Return

January 15, 2026

Early Thursday, a SpaceX capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, near San Diego. Inside four astronauts, forced to abandon their six-month mission at the International Space Station because one of them is ill. See the return of Americans Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, along with Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Russia’s Oleg Platonov, as questions swirl about their early arrival. NASA did not reveal which astronaut was ailing or whether the issue was a sickness or injury. It was the first time NASA cut short a spaceflight for medical reasons.