An American astronaut is hospitalized after returning to Earth after a stay of more than seven months on the International Space Station, NASA announced on Friday, October 25.
The US space agency did not reveal the identity of the astronaut in question, nor details about his condition or the reasons for his hospitalization, for reasons of “medical confidentiality.”
In any case, he is one of the three American members of SpaceX’s Crew-8 mission, a regular rotation mission for the crew of the International Space Station (ISS).
“A medical problem”
Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt and Jeanette Epps, NASA astronauts and members of this mission, returned to Earth overnight from Thursday to Friday aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule, after spending 232 days on the ISS. A fourth person, Russian cosmonaut Alexander Grebionkin, was also part of this mission.
The capsule landed off the coast of Florida, a maneuver that according to NASA took place normally. But after landing, “a NASA astronaut had a medical problem,” the agency said in a statement. The four professionals were then transported to Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola Hospital in Florida.
“After a medical evaluation at the hospital, three of the crew left” the facility and have now arrived at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The only astronaut who remained in the hospital “is in stable condition and under observation as a precautionary measure,” NASA said.
Source: BFM TV
