CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. NASA reported Friday that a NASA astronaut was hospitalized following a nearly eight-month mission on the International Space Station (ISS), extended due to delays with Boeing’s Starliner capsule and Hurricane Milton. The astronaut, whose identity remains undisclosed, was taken to a Pensacola, Florida, hospital for further evaluation after a “medical issue” surfaced shortly after splashdown.
The SpaceX capsule carrying three American astronauts and one Russian undocked from the ISS mid-week, successfully landing in the Gulf of Mexico just off the Florida coast before dawn. The capsule was retrieved, and the astronauts underwent routine medical checks. NASA later confirmed that one astronaut was transported to the hospital “out of an abundance of caution,” emphasizing the stable condition and hospital stay as a “precautionary measure.” NASA has opted not to release specific details of the astronaut’s condition, citing patient privacy.
The other three astronauts—NASA’s Matthew Dominick and Jeanette Epps, as well as Russia’s Alexander Grebenkin—were cleared and have since returned to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Adjusting to Earth’s gravity after months in space can be challenging, with re-acclimatization often taking days or weeks. This team had anticipated a return nearly two months prior, but issues with Boeing’s Starliner capsule and disruptions caused by Hurricane Milton extended their stay. Boeing’s Starliner, intended as the crew’s return vehicle, was grounded in September due to safety concerns, leading to a last-minute switch to SpaceX’s capsule. Barratt, the only spaceflight veteran among the returning astronauts, praised the ground teams: “To replan, retool, and kind of redo everything right along with us … helped us to roll with all those punches.”
The ISS is now back to its regular crew complement of seven, comprising four Americans and three Russians, after months of accommodating a larger team due to logistical challenges.
Gary P Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
