Nasa Astronaut Hospitalized After Return from Space Mission
A NASA astronaut was hospitalized early Friday due to a āmedical issueā following their return from the International Space Station (ISS), as confirmed by the space agency. Due to privacy regulations, NASA refrained from disclosing the identity of the astronaut or specific details regarding the medical issue.
The astronaut, who is currently āin stable condition under observation as a precautionary measure,ā was among four crew members who successfully splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico near Pensacola, Florida, at 3:29 a.m. Eastern Time. This event marked the conclusion of nearly eight months spent in space.
This mission, designated Crew-8, was the eighth operational flight that SpaceX has conducted for NASA. The crew consisted of astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps from NASA, alongside Alexander Grebenkin from the Russian space agency Roscosmos. They had launched in March as part of a standard six-month rotation of crew members aboard the International Space Station.
Notably, both the undocking and splashdown were executed without any technical complications. In a video broadcast from the recovery ship’s deck, the astronauts appeared to exit the capsule without any issues, and all four underwent initial health checks shortly thereafter. During a press conference approximately an hour and a half after their return, a NASA official reported that the crew was ādoing great.ā
Later in the day, NASA provided an update indicating that all four astronauts had been transported to a hospital in Pensacola as a precautionary measure. An afternoon update revealed that three of the astronauts had subsequently returned to Houston.
The Crew-8 mission experienced an extension of roughly two months. This delay was initiated due to complications with Boeingās Starliner spacecraft, which occupied one of the two available docking ports at the ISS. Consequently, the Crew-8 astronauts were unable to return home because the SpaceX Dragon vehicle that had brought them to orbit occupied the second docking port. This situation left no available docking space for the Crew-9 mission, which was meant to deliver the next group of astronauts to the space station aboard another Crew Dragon vehicle.
As a result, the Crew-8 astronauts had to remain in space until the Starliner successfully departed. NASA ultimately decided that the Starliner astronauts would stay in orbit as part of the space station crew, and an empty Starliner successfully returned to Earth on September 6.
Three weeks later, Crew-9, which included two new astronauts, launched, paving the way for the Crew-8 astronauts to finally return to Earth. However, weather conditions complicated matters; Hurricane Milton had passed over Florida, leading to unfavorable weather conditions that persisted even after the hurricane’s departure. It wasn’t until Wednesday that the Crew Dragon with the four astronauts was able to undock successfully.