American astronaut Don Pettit tells the story after landing!
He vomited, but the reporters were very polite and did not capture his embarrassing moment.
The article was published on April 29 in Space News USA.
American astronaut Don Pettit and his two Russian colleagues returned to Earth on April 19 aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, landing in Kazakhstan, successfully completing their seven-month International Space Station (ISS) mission. It was actually April 20 — Pettit's 70th birthday.
Videos taken shortly after landing showed that Pettit looked unwell.
"I don't look good because I don't feel good," Pettit said on April 28. "I'm just throwing up into the Kazakh steppe."
The cameras did not capture these scenes, and Pettit explained, "The media was not trying to hide the truth; it's just that the photographers respected his privacy when he was vomiting. After all, no one wants to be caught doing this. They were very polite."
Pettit is familiar with this reaction; the four-time spaceflight astronaut said his body often reacts poorly when exposed again to Earth's gravity.
"Some people can easily return from spaceflights and then go out for pizza and dancing," Pettit said. "For someone like me, returning to Earth has always been a major challenge. Even a 16-day shuttle mission feels like spending six months on the space station. This is just my physiological response."
Pettit now feels well and is undergoing postoperative rehabilitation, which will take about a month.
But Pettit said, "John Glenn flew at the age of 76, and I am only 70, so I still have a few good years ahead. I can fly one or two more times."
This American astronaut deserves respect!
Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1830686115699715/
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