A NASA astronaut was taken to a hospital on Friday with an unspecified medical issue shortly after returning to Earth from a nearly eight-month mission on the International Space Station (ISS).
The astronaut, whose identity has not been disclosed for privacy reasons, splashed down off the coast of Florida aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule, along with three other crew members—two NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut.
Initially, NASA stated that the entire crew was transported to the medical center for further evaluation as a precaution, but it did not clarify whether any of the crew members were experiencing problems. Later, NASA confirmed that one of its astronauts had a medical issue, and the crew was taken to a hospital in Pensacola, Florida, near the splashdown site.
The other three crew members have since been discharged and returned to Houston, while the astronaut who remains at Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola hospital is reported to be in stable condition under observation as a precaution. NASA did not disclose details about the astronaut’s condition.
Following their standard medical evaluations upon exiting the spacecraft, NASA emphasized that all crew members were flown to the facility for additional assessments out of an abundance of caution. The agency typically maintains confidentiality regarding astronaut medical issues and declined to provide specific reasons for the extra precautions. Russia’s space agency has not yet responded to inquiries about the astronaut’s condition.
SpaceX has successfully flown to the ISS 44 times, with its reusable spacecraft serving as the sole U.S. option for NASA astronaut transportation to and from the ISS. Boeing’s Starliner, meant to be a second U.S. option, has faced delays due to development issues.
The Crew-8 astronauts spent 235 days in space, longer than the standard six-month missions on the ISS, and this was also the longest mission for SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, which debuted in 2020. Their return had been postponed for weeks due to two hurricanes that affected the southeastern U.S. near the expected splashdown sites.
On Wednesday, the Crew Dragon spacecraft safely undocked from the ISS and re-entered Earth’s atmosphere early Friday morning, deploying parachutes before landing in the Gulf of Mexico.
In a news briefing following the splashdown, a NASA representative remarked that “the crew is doing well” and did not indicate any concerns regarding the astronauts. However, there were two minor issues reported related to the deployment of Crew Dragon’s parachutes. Richard Jones, deputy manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, explained that the initial set of braking parachutes experienced “debris strikes,” and one of four parachutes in a subsequent set took longer than anticipated to unfurl.
