The astronaut at the center of NASA’s first-ever medical evacuation from the International Space Station earlier this year has revealed that doctors remain baffled by the sudden illness that struck him in orbit.
Four-time space veteran Mike Fincke recounted the alarming incident, which occurred on January 7 as he was having dinner, preparing for a spacewalk scheduled for the following day.
He suddenly lost the ability to speak, experiencing no pain but visibly alarming his crewmates, who swiftly alerted flight surgeons on Earth.
“It was completely out of the blue. It was just amazingly quick,” Fincke, 59, a retired Air Force colonel, told The Associated Press from Houston’s Johnson Space Center.
The episode, which he described as striking like “a very, very fast lightning bolt,” lasted approximately 20 minutes. Fincke stated he felt fine immediately afterward and continues to do so, having never experienced anything similar before or since.
Doctors have ruled out a heart attack and confirmed he wasn’t choking, but all other potential causes remain under investigation, with a possible link to his 549 days spent in weightlessness. He was five and a half months into his latest space station mission when the event transpired.
“My crewmates definitely saw that I was in distress,” he said, recalling how all six crew members gathered around him. “It was all hands on deck within just a matter of seconds.”
Fincke noted that the space station’s ultrasound machine proved invaluable during the emergency, and he has undergone extensive testing since his return to Earth. NASA is now reviewing other astronauts’ medical records for any comparable incidents in space.
Fincke, who identified himself late last month to quell public speculation, expressed regret that his illness led to the cancellation of a spacewalk, which would have been his tenth and a first for crewmate Zena Cardman, and the early return of Cardman and two other crewmates.
SpaceX brought them back on January 15, over a month ahead of schedule, and they were immediately taken to a hospital.
“I’ve been very lucky to be super healthy. So this was very surprising for everyone,” he admitted.
However, he stopped apologizing after NASA administrator Jared Isaacman personally instructed him to. His colleagues also reassured him, saying, “This wasn’t you. This was space, right? You didn’t let anybody down.” Ever the optimist, Fincke holds out hope for another journey into space.
