Sat Nov 09 10:34:24 UTC 2024: ## NASA Astronauts Mum on Hospitalization Following Space Station Mission
**Cape Canaveral, Florida** – Three NASA astronauts who returned from a prolonged mission on the International Space Station last month remained tight-lipped about a medical issue that landed one of them in the hospital after their return.
Astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps addressed the press for the first time since their October 25th return, after spending nearly eight months in orbit. Their extended stay was attributed to delays with Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule and adverse weather conditions, including Hurricane Milton.
Following their SpaceX capsule landing in the Gulf of Mexico, the astronauts, along with Russian cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, were taken to a Pensacola hospital. One of the American astronauts was hospitalized overnight for an undisclosed “medical issue,” with NASA citing medical privacy as the reason for withholding details.
During Friday’s press conference, the astronauts refused to comment on who fell ill, with Dr. Barratt, a space medicine specialist, declining to even describe the symptoms experienced.
“Spaceflight is still something we don’t fully understand. We’re finding things that we don’t expect sometimes. This was one of those times and we’re still piecing things together on this,” Dr. Barratt said, the only member of the crew with prior spaceflight experience.
Ms. Epps highlighted the individual variations in how people adapt to space and gravity, calling it “the part that you can’t predict.” She added, “Every day is better than the day before.”
Mr. Dominick noted the adjustments required upon returning to Earth, including the simple act of sitting comfortably. He also mentioned that he refrained from using the treadmill during his time in space as part of an experiment designed to assess necessary equipment for future Mars missions.
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, the two astronauts serving as test pilots for Boeing’s Starliner, will remain at the space station until February, returning to Earth with SpaceX. Starliner returned empty in September.
First Piper 