NASA astronaut is released from the hospital after returning from space

U.S. Space Station This photo provided by NASA shows Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, left, NASA astronauts Michael Barratt, second from left, Matthew Dominick, second from right, and Jeanette Epps, right, inside the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship MEGAN shortly after having landed in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. (NASA/Joel Kowsky via AP) (NASA/Joel Kowsky/AP)

By The Associated Press

A NASA astronaut who was briefly hospitalized after returning from space has been released, the space agency said Saturday.

NASA’s Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt and Jeanette Epps, and Russia’s Alexander Grebenkin were flown to the hospital for additional medical checks Friday after parachuting into the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast aboard a SpaceX capsule.

Three were released and returned to Houston. A NASA astronaut — who was not identified — was kept for observation for an unspecified medical issue. Citing patient privacy, the space agency declined to identify the astronaut or release details about their condition — other than to say the astronaut is in “good health” and would “resume normal post-flight reconditioning with other crew members.”

The crew arrived at the International Space Station in March and should have been back on Earth two months ago. But the return trip was delayed by Boeing's new Starliner astronaut capsule and Hurricane Milton.

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