WASHINGTON: A NASA astronaut was hospitalized for an unspecified medical issue after returning from nearly eight months on the space station, a stay that was extended due to issues with Boeing’s capsule and Hurricane Milton, the agency said.
A SpaceX capsule carrying three Americans and one Russian safely splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico just off the Florida coast before dawn, having undocked from the International Space Station mid-week. The capsule was lifted onto a recovery ship, where the astronauts underwent routine medical checks.
Shortly after landing, one NASA astronaut experienced a “medical issue,” prompting the crew to be flown to a hospital in Pensacola, Florida, for further evaluation “out of an abundance of caution,” according to a statement from the space agency.
The astronaut, whose identity was not disclosed, is in stable condition and remains hospitalized as a “precautionary measure,” NASA reported, adding that it would not provide details about the astronaut’s condition due to patient privacy concerns.
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The other three astronauts were released and returned to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The crew’s return was delayed by two months due to problems with Boeing’s new Starliner astronaut capsule, which returned empty in September over safety concerns. Hurricane Milton further complicated their return, along with an additional two weeks of high winds and rough seas.
Their replacements will be Starliner test pilots Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, whose own mission was extended from eight days to eight months, along with two astronauts launched by SpaceX four weeks ago. These four will remain on the station until February.
The space station has now returned to its normal crew size of seven—four Americans and three Russians—after several months of overflow.
