Fourth Crew Member Experienced a Medical Issue After 235 Day Space Mission

The fourth and final astronaut from NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission has been released from the hospital after an overnight stay. The three other crew members left for Houston the previous day following their 235 day space mission.

The SpaceX capsule, containing NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps along with Roscosmos Cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, departed from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on March 3. The mission was originally supposed to last 180 days, but its return was pushed 55 days behind schedule due to technical issues with the Boeing Starliner capsule and the aftermath of Hurricane Milton.

Routine trips last anywhere from five to seven months, making Crew-8 “the longest duration in space for a US crewed vehicle at 235 days,” commented Richard Jones, NASA’s deputy manager of the Commercial Crew Program.

The crew returned to Earth at 3:29 am on October 25, splashing down off the Florida panhandle. In total, they traveled almost 100 million miles across 3,760 orbits while docked to the International Space Station.

After being hoisted onto the recovery ship and receiving medical evaluation, three of the astronauts got the all-clear. They were transported to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The last, however, was held back after experiencing an undisclosed medical issue.

The agency clarified that the astronaut was in stable condition and was only kept in the hospital for precautionary observation. To maintain privacy, NASA has not publicly confirmed which of the four crew members stayed behind.

“After 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 Saturday,” the agency explained. “The crew member is in good health and will resume normal post-flight reconditioning with other crew members.”

FMI: www.nasa.gov