CNN – NASA said on Wednesday it was postponing a spacewalk at the International Space Station that was scheduled for Thursday, citing a “medical concern” with one of the crew members.
The space agency did not name the astronaut involved but confirmed later the issue was related to a “single crew member who is stable” and officials are considering next steps.
“Safely conducting our missions is our highest priority, and we are actively evaluating all options, including the possibility of an earlier end to Crew-11’s mission,” a NASA spokesperson said in a statement.
“These are the situations NASA and our partners train for and prepare to execute safely.” The spokesperson added that the agency would provide an update in the next 24 hours.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11, which includes American astronauts Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, arrived at the space station on August 2.
The mission, part of the orbiting laboratory’s regular staffing rotation, was expected to conclude no earlier than next month after Crew-12’s launch in mid-February.
Such rotations, managed by NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, typically last about six months, and bringing a team home early before another is in place would be highly unusual.
Medical issues in space
Two of the astronauts — Fincke and Cardman — were slated to exit an airlock aboard the International Space Station on Thursday to finish preparing a power channel where a new solar array is set to be installed.
The spacewalk would be a first for Cardman, a 38-year-old geobiologist who was selected for the astronaut corps in 2017.
Fincke, who has been an astronaut since 1996, has participated in nine prior spacewalks. Venturing outside the space station again would make him the sixth American astronaut to conduct 10 spacewalks, said Bill Spetch, NASA’s operations integration manager for the orbiting laboratory …
