One of NASA’s astronauts on the SpaceX Crew-8 was hospitalized after returning from a close to eight-month stay on the International Space Station (ISS).
The unnamed member experienced a medical issue and remains in stable condition at Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola in Florida, NASA said in an Oct. 25 statement.
NASA’s Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps—in addition to Russian astronaut Alexander Grebenkin—were taken to Ascension for evaluation after their splashdown.
Three of the crew members were discharged and have arrived at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
NASA said the astronaut stayed under observation “as a precautionary measure.” The astronaut’s name and details of the condition haven’t been released for privacy reasons.
“During its return to Earth, the SpaceX Dragon executed a normal entry and splashdown,” NASA said. “Recovery of the crew and the spacecraft was without incident. During routine medical assessments on the recovery ship, the additional evaluation of the crew members was requested out of an abundance of caution.”
NASA said the SpaceX Crew-8’s Dragon landed near Pensacola after a 235-day mission, 232 of which were spent conducting research on the ISS.
According to the U.S. Space Forces-Space (S4S), the Crew-8 left for the ISS in March “to conduct new scientific research to prepare for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit and benefit humanity.”
S4S’s involvement with NASA space flight is in its assessment of space operations while providing “situational awareness monitoring” for the ISS and other spacecraft. It tracks space objects to ensure safety and provides data to the U.S. Space Command Area of Operations, NASA, and other satellite operators.
The Associated Press reported that the astronauts were due back two months ago but were delayed by issues with Boeing’s Crew Space Transportation-100 Starliner that flew to the ISS in June as a part of the company’s first flight test to conduct research.
In August, NASA stated that the pilots identified helium leaks and issues with control thrusters when on their flight to the ISS before docking on June 5.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said of the problems that “space flight is risky, even at its safest and most routine.”
The decision to delay the return of pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams was based on NASA’s “commitment to safety,” he said.
Later, Hurricane Milton stalled the return of SpaceX Crew-8 for another two weeks due to rough seas preventing a safe splashdown.
The two Starliner pilots, Wilmore and Williams—and two SpaceX astronauts launched four weeks ago—serve as the replacements for the Crew-8 on the ISS.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
