NASA had to postpone a scheduled spacewalk to set up fresh solar regalia outside the International Space Station after one of its astronauts complained of a pinched nerve in his neck .
“ Thanks for everyone ’s concern , ” Mark Vande Hei , flight engineer for Expedition 65,tweetedyesterday . “ I have a pinched nerve in my neck that stimulate us to reschedule today ’s spacewalk . The support from folk , acquaintance , and NASA leadership has been fantastic . I ’m wait forward to installing this IROSA Mod kit . Today just was n’t the right day . ”
Thanks for everyone ’s concern . I have a pinched mettle in my neck opening that cause us to reschedule today ’s spacewalk . The funding from kinfolk , friend , and NASA leaders has been fantastic . I ’m looking fore to installing this IROSA Mod kit . Today just was n’t the right day.https://t.co/srGT9GQfCm

Astronaut Mark Vande Hei conducting a spacesuit fit check on 14 February 2025.Image: NASA Johnson
— Mark T. Vande Hei ( @Astro_Sabot)August 24 , 2021
Once installed , iROSA , or International Space Station Roll - Out Solar Array , will boost the ISS ’s power gridiron and provide more electrical power for the “ numerous research and science investigation comport every day , as well as the go forward operations of the orbiting platform,”accordingto NASA .
Vande Hei , along with JAXA cosmonaut Akihiko Hoshide , were scheduled to do the 6.5 - minute spacewalk on August 24 . NASA call it off with less than 24 hour notice , say the deferral was due to a “ minor medical issue ” that “ was not a medical emergency , ” per an agencypress release .
![]()
“ A pinched cheek is a compressed nerve,”accordingto the Cleveland Clinic . “ Surrounding tissue that push on nerve roots can stimulate botheration , apathy and prickle in different areas of your body . ” Pinched nerves , in this case the cervical heart , can be sore , but they tend to go away with remainder and can be deal with medications and physiatrics .
A Russian Soyuz MS-18 crew capsule delivered Vande Hei to the orbital outpost on April 9 , 2021 , and he ’s wait to rest on the ISS for an entire class . The NASA astronaut was in the beginning scheduled for a six - calendar month mission , but Russian plans to film a picture on board the place meant helost his ride home . Thefilmingof this pic , called Vyzov ( Challenge in English ) , is already evidence to be a unlike kind of infliction in the neck .
NASA says the iROSA installation is not time sensitive and that it ’s now evaluating the next near opportunity for the spacewalk . It wo n’t hap any time shortly on account of upcoming events , namely the arrival of the SpaceX CRS-23 shipment mission , which is scheduled to launch on August 28 , and two unrelated Russian spacewalks scheduled for September 3 and 9 . Cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov will be setting up the lately arrived Nauka module , which caused all thattroublea few calendar week ago .

So at the earliest , NASA will do its spacewalk in mid - September . Vande Hei will hopefully be feeling skilful by then .
AquanautschallengeIn RussiaSpaceflightSPACEX
Daily Newsletter
Get the best tech , science , and civilisation news in your inbox daily .
tidings from the future , turn in to your present .
You May Also Like






![]()






![]()