Three NASA astronauts, fresh off a 235-day mission aboard the International Space Station, have spoken for the first time about their trip, including a spacewalk which almost ended in catastrophe.
However, the crew refused to discuss a medical incident which resulted in one of them being briefly hospitalised after their return to Earth.
After splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico on October 25, the unnamed astronaut spent a night under observation before being reunited with their fellow crew members at the Johnson Space Center.
NASA has not released any details, citing medical privacy, but did confirmed the astronaut was “in good health and will resume normal post-flight reconditioning with other crew members”.
Crew-8 pilot Dr Mike Barratt, a physician-astronaut, said: “I know there’s interest in our post-flight medical issue, where we detoured to a hospital.
“Space flight is still something we’re continually learning about. Surprises come up, and this was one of those times.
“We’re still piecing it all together, and out of respect for privacy, that’s all we’ll be saying for now.”
Alongside Barratt, Commander Matt Dominick, astronaut Jeanette Epps, and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin spent almost eight months aboard the ISS and returned in good health and spirits.
Mr Grebenkin returned to Moscow soon after the splashdown, where he was seen smiling in a social media post.
The crew shared stories of their mission, including a June spacewalk that nearly ended in disaster due to a leak in the airlock.
During preparations for a spacewalk on June 24, astronaut Tracy Dyson, who, along with cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub, returned to terra firma on the Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft in September, noticed water leaking from an umbilical in the airlock, which in turn caused ice to form throughout the chamber.
She reportedly said: “There’s water everywhere… I’ve got ice all over my helmet.”
Dr Barratt called the situation “dramatic,” as ice particles filled the airlock.
Dyson managed to reattach the faulty umbilical despite her ice-covered gloves and impaired vision, which Barratt described as “nothing short of heroic”.
NASA has confirmed that preparations are in place for spacewalks to resume in January, with upgrades to the suits and airlock, though Barratt noted: “None of our spacesuits are spring chickens, so we expect to see hardware issues with repeated use.”
Once he returned, Mr Dominick said little things like sitting comfortably in a hard chair took several days to get used to.
The two astronauts who served as test pilots for Boeing’s Starliner – Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams – will remain at the space station until February, flying back with SpaceX. Starliner returned empty in September.
