NASA and Spaceflight

NASA WB‑57 research aircraft (tail number NASA927) departed Ellington Field in Houston about 10:19 a.m. CST and made a gear‑up (belly) landing around 11:19 a.m. Jan. 27 after a reported mechanical issue, with video showing the plane sliding on its belly with sparks and smoke. Both NASA crew members were medically evaluated and cleared; NASA will lead a thorough investigation, the FAA has opened a separate probe, and NASA says the event is not expected to impact Artemis II imagery support because other aerial assets can fill in.

In January 2026 NASA ordered the early return of four Crew‑11 members after a serious medical condition affecting one astronaut — which led to the cancellation of a planned spacewalk — prompting what officials and observers called the agency’s first medically driven evacuation of a long‑duration mission; the astronaut is reported stable, with identity and diagnosis withheld. Crew members said the ISS’s portable ultrasound, a tool they routinely train with, was used extensively during the Jan. 7 incident and proved critical to on‑orbit assessment before the crew’s splashdown and transfer to hospital care.