The NASA astronaut who was kept under observation at a Florida hospital yesterday after spending a grueling 232 days in space has now been released, the space agency shared in a statement earlier today. Three NASA astronauts, Jeanette Epps, Michael Barratt and Matthew Dominick returned to Earth on SpaceX's Crew Dragon early in the morning yesterday. Their mission was the SpaceX Crew 8 mission, with the four crew member, cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, representing Russia onboard the orbiting space laboratory.
After their splashdown, NASA shared in a press release that all four had been flown to a local hospital in Florida, and later during the day, it revealed that an astronaut had been kept "under observation as a precautionary measure."
NASA Astronaut Kept In Hospital Released And Is In Good Health, Says Space Agency
The SpaceX Crew 8 mission was one of the longest duration missions that American astronauts launching from US soil have performed in space. While it was initially slated to return to Earth in August, troubles with Boeing's Starliner spacecraft and weather constraints at the landing site stemming from Hurricane Milton and other storms delayed its return. Consequently, the crew returned to Earth two months later than initially planned after completing a 235 day mission, out of which 232 days were spent onboard the ISS.
During the delay, NASA and Boeing spent months testing Starliner on Earth and in space. These tests covered the ship's thrusters, and Starliner's delayed return meant that SpaceX's Crew 9 would be unable to dock to the ISS. Without Crew 9's docking, Crew 8 would need to remain on the station in order to ensure continued American presence in space and provide an additional ship for the Starliner's astronauts.
Following yesterday's post landing release from NASA, which shared that "three of the crew members departed Pensacola and have arrived at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston" with the one that was kept in the hospital "is in stable condition under observation as a precautionary measure," the agency has shared additional details today.
It outlines that "an overnight stay at Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola in Florida, the NASA astronaut was released and returned to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston." NASA adds that the "crew member is in good health and will resume normal post-flight reconditioning with other crew members."
After they return to Earth, astronauts spend time in reconditioning training to re acclimate themselves to Earth's gravity. NASA also regularly holds press conferences with its crews after their return, and medical trouble following spaceflight isn't new. While Crew 8 is the first time astronauts and a cosmonaut had to be flown to a hospital, others, such as Crew 3 astronaut Raja Chari and Crew 5 astronaut Josh Cassada, shared their experiences with health problems.
Chari revealed that during the time he spent in space, his spine bent slightly and went out of shape. " I’m no doctor, but even I could see the difference in this bone scan of how my spine got bent more after returning from space," the astronaut outlined in a social media post after his return. Astronaut Cassada shared details about his experience in the Crew Dragon during its reentry phase.
In a post flight press conference, the astronaut revealed that while he was "calling out you know four and a half Gs or so," he had to "like lock into the frame of the display, and my eyes kind of did this, it was like the Matrix, it was like a glitch in the Matrix, where I would tumble maybe five degrees and then instantaneously end back up and then tumble five degrees and then kept doing this every two to three seconds."
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