After hours of returning… NASA announces astronaut transferred to hospital

NASA announced that one of its astronauts was taken to the hospital today, Friday, just hours after his return to Earth, following a mission of nearly eight months aboard the International Space Station.

The astronaut, whose name NASA did not disclose out of respect for privacy, landed on the coast of Florida at 3:29 a.m. Eastern Time, aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule, along with three of his colleagues, including American astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, as well as Russian astronaut Alexander Grebennkin.

NASA initially stated that the entire crew was taken to a medical facility for additional examinations as a precautionary measure but did not clarify if all crew members were experiencing health issues. In a later update, the agency announced that one crew member faced a medical issue and was flown to a hospital in Pensacola, Florida, near the landing site, while the other three astronauts left the hospital and returned to Houston.

In a related context, the Russian space agency Roscosmos posted a photo of Russian astronaut Alexander Grebennkin smiling on its Telegram account, commenting: “After a space mission and landing, astronaut Alexander Grebennkin is in excellent condition!”