CREW MEDICAL ISSUE PROMPTS EARLY ISS COMMAND TRANSFER

WASHINGTON, Jan 13 (Bernama-dpa) -- Command aboard the International Space Station (ISS) has shifted ahead of the early return of four crew members due to a medical issue, reported German Press Agency (dpa).

United States (US) astronaut Michael Fincke handed over command aboard the ISS to Russian cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov on Monday.

The return of the four astronauts is scheduled to begin on Wednesday. NASA has not disclosed which crew members are affected or the nature of the medical problem.

During the handover ceremony broadcast live from the ISS, Fincke described the moment as bittersweet before presenting Kud-Sverchkov with the symbolic key to the station.

Kud-Sverchkov, as the new commander, will oversee crew cohesion and coordination with mission control on Earth. His first order included a group hug for the entire ISS team.

NASA previously announced that the four members of Crew-11 – Fincke, his NASA colleague Zena Cardman, Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov – would be returned to Earth early, marking the first such instance in ISS history.

All crew members attended the ceremony and spoke briefly. Crew-11 had been scheduled to remain aboard the ISS for several more weeks. The next crew's launch is currently planned for mid-February, but may be brought forward.

Kud-Sverchkov arrived at the ISS in November with cosmonaut Sergey Mikaev and NASA astronaut Christopher Williams aboard a Soyuz rocket.

--BERNAMA-dpa