It became known that all four crew members of the SpaceX Dragon ship of the Crew-8 mission, which landed in the ocean yesterday, were rushed to the nearest hospital instead of returning to base. Soon three of them left the hospital, and the fourth remained under the supervision of doctors “just in case.” NASA did not report this incident and admitted it only after it was leaked to the press. The agency assures that there is no reason to worry.
Image source: NASA
The crew of Crew-8 included three NASA astronauts – Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt and Jeanette Epps, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin. All of them stayed on board the ISS for about a month longer than expected, which became a record for flights on the Dragons. A long stay in weightlessness does not lead to improvement of the human body. Therefore, increased attention to complaints from astronauts and astronauts is a reasonable precaution.
NASA refused to disclose the name of the astronaut who felt unwell, citing medical confidentiality. The agency also chose not to disclose the reason for his visit to doctors. After catching the Dragon capsule in the ocean, all crew members independently and without visible effort left it and went to the rescue ship. Later, NASA reported that the patient’s condition was stable and his life and health, as well as the life and health of the other participants in the flight, were not in danger.