WASHINGTON, October 2007 — Due to a recent policy change Aspiring astronauts who have undergone laser eye surgery (LASIK) can now be considered for NASA’s space program.
Previously, LASIK was considered unsafe for astronauts in extreme conditions such as liftoff. After the cornea is reshaped by an excimer laser, the flap is replaced as a type of natural bandage.
Healing times are much faster because of the flap used with LASIK. But NASA officials feared that even a healed flap could become dislodged under extreme conditions.
Now, NASA officials say that modern wavefront-guided LASIK using flaps created by a special laser (femtosecond) known as IntraLase has a safety profile good enough to clear the vision correction procedure for astronauts.