Space Station Crew Returns to Earth After 8 Months — But Why Weren't the Boeing Starliner Astronauts with Them?

Mar. 15, 2025

NASA’s SpaceX Crew- 8 members, from left to right: Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin and NASA astronauts Michael Barratt, Matthew Dominick, and Jeanette Epps,.Photo:NASA/Joel Kowsky

NASA/Joel Kowsky

Three NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut splashed to Earth early Friday, Oct. 25, after a nearly eight-month science mission at the International Space Station (ISS).

SpaceX Crew-8 mission had a safe splashdown and recovery after landing in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida, at 3:29 a.m. local time — the space agency’s eighth commercial crew rotation mission to the ISS, NASAsaid in a news release.

“After launching March 3 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, spent 232 days aboard the space station,” according to the agency.

One of NASA’s astronauts was taken to a hospital in Pensacola for an undisclosed medical issue after the group returned, theAssociated Pressreported.

The astronaut has not been identified, but the space agency said they were in stable condition and were hospitalized as a “precautionary measure." NASA news chief Cheryl Warner said in a statement that the group was “taken to a local medical facility for additional evaluation,”CNNreported.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“During their mission, crew members traveled nearly 100 million miles and completed 3,760 orbits around Earth,” NASA said in its news release. “They conducted new scientific research to advance human exploration beyond low Earth orbit and benefit human life on Earth.”

Starliner test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams,who have been in space since June 5and arrived at the ISS in September after the Starliner vehicle they were aboard experienced helium leaks and malfunctioning thrusters, are due toreturn to Earth in February.

source: people.com