The agency said the condition of a crew member was “stable” but did not release details; maintenance and electrical upgrades outside the station have been postponed. There are concerns that the station’s operations could be affected without an orderly replacement of crew members.
“Safety is our top priority, and we are actively reviewing all options,” NASA said tonight (January 7-8, 2026), after deciding to postpone the spacewalk scheduled for Thursday, January 8, 2026, outside the International Space Station. The agency reported that a “medical concern” arose aboard the station with one of the crew members, and that his condition was stable. Due to medical privacy, NASA did not release further details and did not identify the crew member. (NASA)
The postponement comes just days before the start of the spring semester at US universities, but on the space station itself it could affect a tight schedule of maintenance and upgrades. According to US reports, NASA is even considering an exception: Early termination of Crew-11 mission, which currently operates the station together with its international partners. (spaceflightnow.com)
What was postponed, and what were they supposed to do outside the station?
The postponed spacewalk (EVA 94) was scheduled to last about 6.5 hours and was to be attended by two NASA astronauts: Mike Finke and Zina Cardman. According to the plan, they would have prepared “Power Channel 2A” for the future installation of an additional pair of foldable solar arrays (iROSA), intended to improve the station’s power generation capacity in the coming years.
In addition, before returning to the Quest airlock, the two were supposed to perform surface samples (swabs) at several points near the airlock, as part of a study aimed at identifying the presence of microorganisms in areas where there is movement and air exiting the station.
NASA stated that they will also update later regarding an alternative date for this walk, as well as regarding another spacewalk planned for next week (EVA 95). (NASA)
Why is a mission cut short being considered, and what does it mean for the flight schedule?
According to a NASA statement cited in US reports, the agency is “examining all options, including the possibility of an early termination of the Crew-11 mission,” and will provide another update within 24 hours.
Crew-11 is a crew rotation mission operated on SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft, and is manned by two American astronauts (Cardman and Finke), a Japanese JAXA astronaut (Kimiya Yui), and a Russian cosmonaut (Oleg Platonov). In the event of an abbreviation, this could impact the station's operational continuity, scheduled maintenance missions, and the readiness window for the next crew.
The next mission, Crew-12, is currently scheduled for launch. Not before Sunday, 2/15/2026, according to a NASA announcement from December.
NASA stressed that the current situation is stable, and that further details — including a new date for the spacewalk — will be announced later. (NASA)
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