CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Three NASA astronauts whose long space station mission ended last month with a visit to the hospital, declined Friday to say which of them was sick.
Astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt and Jeanette Epps publicly discussed their spaceflight for the first time since returning from the International Space Station on October 25. eight months in orbitlonger than expected because of all the problems with it Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule and rough weather, including Hurricane Milton.
Shortly after their SpaceX capsule crashed into the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida, the three were taken to a hospital in nearby Pensacola, along with Russian cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, who flew with them in March.
One of the Americans ended up spending the night there due to an undisclosed “medical problem.” NASA declined to say who was hospitalized and why, citing medical privacy.
When the astronauts were asked at Friday’s press conference who was sick, they declined to comment. Barratt, a doctor who specializes in space medicine, refused to even describe the symptoms the unknown astronaut had.
“Space flight is still something we don’t fully understand. Sometimes we encounter things we don’t expect. This was one of those moments and we’re still working on this,” said Barratt, the only member of the crew who had previously flown in space.
Epps said everyone reacts differently to space – and gravity.
“That’s the part you can’t predict,” she said, adding, “Every day is better than the day before.”
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Dominick said little things like sitting comfortably in a hard chair took a few days to get used to when he got back. He said he didn’t use the treadmill at all during his time in space, as part of an experiment to see what equipment could be used on a long trip to Mars. The first time he walked was when he got out of the pod.
The two astronauts who served as test pilots for Boeing’s Starliner – Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams – will remain on the space station until February and fly back with SpaceX. Starliner returned empty in September.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.