Scripps Health disclosed Monday that its hospital in La Jolla received two helicopters, each carrying two astronauts, early Thursday shortly after the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour craft returned to Earth about one month earlier than scheduled due to one of its crew suffering an undisclosed “medical concern.” Officials said in a subsequent news conference that while the situation was stable, the call was made to cut the mission short, given that the bulk of its activities, including “more than 850 hours of scientific studies,” had already been completed.
The incident was the first time in the history of the International Space Station that a crew returned to Earth earlier than planned due to a medical issue.
Chris Van Gorder, Scripps’ chief executive officer, said in an email Monday that Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla is well-positioned to receive such transports because of its large heliport, which “can manage every size of helicopter in the U.S. inventory, including military and heavy helicopters.”
Van Gorder said Scripps started making preparations for the possibility of astronaut arrivals when NASA and SpaceX started using the Pacific off the West Coast as a future landing site. Thursday’s splashdown, Scripps said, marks “the first time a West Coast hospital provided care for astronauts who had just returned from space.”
A NASA statement said that the astronauts stayed at the hospital overnight before returning to Johnson Space Center in Houston to undergo the standard medical examinations that follow space missions.
Scripps directed all questions about the astronaut’s condition to NASA, which has declined to say what medical condition caused the early return, citing medical privacy laws.