ORLANDO, Fla. — A NASA astronaut suffered a medical issue and remains hospitalized in Florida on Friday after returning to Earth from a nearly eight-month stay in space.

NASA did not reveal which of the three NASA astronauts of the four-person crew of the SpaceX Crew-8 mission suffered the issue, but said in a statement the person was in “stable condition under observation as a precautionary measure.”

NASA’s Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt and Jeanette Epps along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin returned from the International Space Station with a 3:29 a.m. splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico near Pensacola. They had undocked from the ISS on Wednesday, making a 34-hour flight home with the mission logging more than 235 days in space.

All four were taken to Ascension Sacred Heart in Pensacola after landing, NASA stated.

“The crew exited the Dragon spacecraft onto a recovery ship for standard post-flight medical evaluations,” according to a statement from Cheryl Warner, news chief with NASA’s Office of Communications. “Out of an abundance of caution, all crew members were flown to the facility together.”

All three of NASA’s astronauts needed assistance onto an awaiting gurney after exiting the spacecraft once it was brought up onto the deck of SpaceX’s recovery ship within an hour of splashdown. Russia’s Grebenkin was able to stand on his own momentarily before also being placed on the gurney.

“I can only imagine what it feels like to have to stand up after spending nearly eight months in space and having to stand up for the first time with Earth’s gravity,” said SpaceX commentator Kate Tice during the early morning broadcast.

Dominick exited first, with all four crew getting assistance from three SpaceX personnel attempting to have them stand upright before being placed on the gurney. Dominick made a few tentative shuffles while leaning forward for a few seconds while Barratt followed soon after, but skipped the full upright standing attempt going directly to the gurney. Epps exited third, and she also was seen losing her balance momentarily before being helped onto the gurney.

“Just standard protocol, we always help individuals coming back from long-duration spaceflight,” Tice said. “We always help them, give them some assistance back to the medical bay. So I can only imagine that it feels like 100 elephants standing on your shoulders as you have to stand up.”

Despite the wobbly exits, all gave thumbs up, waves and handshakes to recovery crew on board the ship. After medical checks, the quartet were supposed to fly by helicopter back to the Florida coast and then head to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston for a reunion with family.

“During its return to Earth, the SpaceX Dragon executed a normal entry and splashdown. Recovery of the crew and the spacecraft was without incident. During routine medical assessments on the recovery ship, the additional evaluation of the crew members was requested out of an abundance of caution,” according to the NASA statement.

NASA said after a medical evaluation at the hospital, three of the crew members departed for Houston, but said the remaining crew member’s identity or details about the condition would not be shared.

“We’re grateful to Ascension Sacred Heart for its support during this time, and we are proud of our team for its quick action to ensure the safety of our crew members,” NASA stated.

The four crew had spent nearly two more months in space than originally planned having launched from Kennedy Space Center back on March 4.

Only Barratt, chosen as a NASA astronaut in 2000, had previous flight experience having traveled on both the final flight of Space Shuttle Discovery in 2011 and a Soyuz mission to the ISS in 2009. He has now spent more than 446 days in space across all three missions.

Epps was the last of her class of NASA astronauts chosen in 2009 to make it to space. Dominick was chosen in 2017 and Grebenkin in 2018.

“On behalf of SpaceX, welcome home,” mission control called out moments after splashdown.

“What an incredible ride,” replied Crew-8 commander Dominick.

The mission was originally aiming to come home in August, but its return was first put on hold because of the delayed departure of Boeing’s Starliner that was docked alongside Endeavour.

Since the ISS has only two ports that can handle Starliner or Dragon spacecraft, the Crew-9 replacement mission to the ISS was not able to fly up until Starliner left. Even after Crew-9’s arrival in September, Hurricane Milton and other poor weather off the coast of Florida delayed Crew-8’s return flight even further.

They were docked to the ISS for 232 days, which is a record stay for the Dragon spacecraft at the station, and during which the crew were part of Expeditions 70, 71 and 72.

That stretched the 210 days the spacecraft had previously been cleared to remain in space.

Endeavour, which was named in deference to Space Shuttle Endeavour, has now completed its fifth trip to space, making it the longest cumulative time in space for any U.S. spacecraft in addition to setting the new record for longest single spaceflight for a U.S. spacecraft.

“We’re looking to certify beyond a fifth flight further and we’ll work with NASA on the definitive certification process with them,” said SpaceX’s Bill Gerstenmaier, vice president of build & flight reliability, in a post-landing press conference. “I think we’ll definitely be extending the crew life beyond the current flights out toward 10 or so.”

The mission’s deorbit sequence began at 2:32 a.m. with just over an hour to go ahead of its parachute-assisted landing. The trunk was jettisoned allowing for spacecraft’s nine-minute-long deorbit burn, which was completed at 2:48 a.m.

That set up Dragon to close its forward nose cone with the spacecraft committed to its trip back through the atmosphere.

“The team right now is tracking no issues on Dragon and our landing site,” said SpaceX mission control. “Weather still looking beautiful, with a wind speed of 3 knots, a wave height of half a foot, and a wave period of six seconds.”

“That is tremendous, tremendous news,” Dominick replied.

Its path took it over the Gulf of Mexico with temperatures on reentry nearing 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit going more than 17,500 mph.

“This is why we see once the Dragon splashes down, we see that the exterior, which was a nice, pristine white at liftoff, and while it was on orbit, becomes more like a toasted marshmallow after it comes back,” Tice said. “We see that thermal protection system having done its job in protecting the structure of the capsule as well as the astronauts inside.”

It slowed to about 350 mph before its pair of drogue parachutes opened on descent followed by its four main parachutes to slow it further to a gentle 15 mph at splashdown.

Crew-8 had been preparing to depart since welcoming the Crew-9 mission’s Crew Dragon Freedom to the ISS on Sept. 29, which brought up NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.

That duo will stay at the ISS as part of Expedition 72 for another five months with a planned return home next February along with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who have been on the ISS since June 6 after arriving on Boeing’s Starliner on the Crew Flight Test mission.

Starliner flew back to Earth minus its crew last month as NASA opted to keep Williams and Wilmore safely on board the ISS after concerns with Starliner’s propulsion system. That pair will become the first astronauts to fly on both Starliner and Crew Dragon when they return.

Crew-9’s arrival brought the ISS population temporarily up to 11, but with Crew-8’s departure, that dropped back to seven.

“Endeavour, departing, fair winds and flowing seas,” said Williams who became the Expedition 72 commander as part of her extended stay.

“So long Dragon, the circle will never be the same without you,” added Williams.

“Station, Dragon, it’s been an absolute pleasure to serve aboard the space station and stay on the watch. It’s in great hands. Godspeed,” replied Dominick as the Dragon maneuvered away from the station.

NASA astronaut and mission specialist Jeanette Epps speaks about Friday's launch at Kennedy Space Center. The four members of the SpaceX Crew-8 mission to the International Space Station arrived to the former shuttle landing facility on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024 ahead of their planned launch on March 1 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket aboard the Crew Dragon Endeavour. From left are Roscosmos cosmonaut and mission specialist Alexander Grebenkin, NASA astronaut and pilot Michael Barratt, and NASA astronaut and commander Matthew Dominick. The quartet will join Expedition 70 and 71 on board the ISS during their six-month stay. (Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel)

NASA astronaut and mission specialist Jeanette Epps speaks about Friday’s launch at Kennedy Space Center. The four members of the SpaceX Crew-8 mission to the International Space Station arrived to the former shuttle landing facility on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024 ahead of their planned launch on March 1 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket aboard the Crew Dragon Endeavour. From left are Roscosmos cosmonaut and mission specialist Alexander Grebenkin, NASA astronaut and pilot Michael Barratt, and NASA astronaut and commander Matthew Dominick. The quartet will join Expedition 70 and 71 on board the ISS during their six-month stay. (Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel)

Endeavour was the first SpaceX Crew Dragon to fly with humans back in 2020 and is the fleet leader having also completed the Demo-2, Crew-2, Axiom Space Ax-1 and Crew-6 missions, all of which docked with the ISS.

It’s one of four active Crew Dragon spacecraft that have now flown 15 crewed missions carrying 56 humans through space, including five private missions on top of the 10 flown for NASA so far.

SpaceX has at least four more Crew Dragon missions already planned in the next nine months with both Crew-10 in February, Crew-11 next July, the fourth Axiom Space trip to the ISS and a private polar orbital mission called Fram2, both of which could fly in the spring.

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