NASA has spent the last few weeks getting ready for two spacewalks at the International Space Station (ISS), its first in eight months. But just hours before NASA astronauts Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman were due to begin the first of the two walks on Thursday,

NASA astronauts planned to conduct two spacewalks in January to conduct repairs and upgrades to the International Space Station. The first spacewalk, which was set to take place on Jan. 8, was postponed Wednesday night after NASA announced the medical concerns of a crew member that came up on Wednesday afternoon.

NASA astronauts Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman are due to conduct the first spacewalk of 2026 outside the International Space Station. How to watch.

On Thursday, a pair of astronauts will venture outside the space station to prepare for the future installation of roll-out solar arrays that will help power its deorbit in 2030.

Expedition 74 was ready for NASA’s first EVA on January 8th. Astronomers Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke were supposed to do routine microbial swabs and hardware QA photography alongside setting up the ISS for a new set of solar arrays. Ahead of the six-and-a-half-hour scheduled spacewalk, the event was canceled rather than postponed.