SPACE:999

A TEAM of astronauts dramatically returned to Earth a month early yesterday after one developed a serious medical condition.

- - BY ANDY LINES Chief Reporter

The four were forced to leave the International Space Station and safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean.

One of Crew-11 shouted: "It's so good to be home!" Nasa has not identified the sick crew member but said they were in a stable condition.

It is the first time Nasa has ever cut short a mission to the ISS owing to a health problem. The SpaceX capsule landed less than 11 hours after the crew were evacuated from the station. After the capsule was opened off the coast of San Diego the crew's captain, American Mike Fincke, 58, exited first.

He smiled but was wobbly on his feet before lying on a stretcher, which is normal procedure.

Nasa's Zena Cardman, 38, from the US, Japan's Kimiya Yui, 55, and cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, 39, seemed jubilant.

Earlier, Fincke called it "bittersweet" as he handed over the keys to the ISS to Sergey Kud-Sverchjov.