What began as a routine announcement about two scheduled spacewalks outside the International Space Station turned into one of the most dramatic medical emergencies in the 25-year history of human space habitation. Here’s the full story of what NASA planned, what went wrong, and what it means for the future of human spaceflight.
Two Historic Spacewalks in January 2026
In early January 2026, NASA announced that Expedition 74 astronauts would conduct the first two spacewalks — officially called Extravehicular Activities, or EVAs — of the year outside the International Space Station. These would be the 278th and 279th spacewalks in the history of the space station, and NASA set up full live coverage across NASA+, Amazon Prime Video, and the NASA YouTube channel.
Spacewalk 94 was scheduled for January 8, beginning at 8:00 a.m. EST and lasting approximately six and a half hours. NASA astronauts Mike Fincke, the Expedition 74 commander, and Zena Cardman, a flight engineer, were set to exit through the station’s Quest airlock to prepare the 2A power channel for the future installation of an International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array (IROSA). Once installed, this array would provide additional power to the orbital laboratory — including critical support for its eventual safe and controlled deorbit, which NASA is planning for around 2030.
The EVA had a personal milestone attached to it as well. It would have been Cardman’s very first spacewalk — and Fincke’s 10th, which would have tied him with five other NASA astronauts for the most EVAs ever performed by an American astronaut. Fincke was to wear a red-striped suit; Cardman would wear an unmarked one.
Spacewalk 95 was scheduled for January 15, also lasting around six and a half hours. This EVA’s tasks included replacing a high-definition camera on camera port 3, installing a new navigational aid called a planar reflector on the Harmony module’s forward port (to help visiting spacecraft dock more precisely), and relocating an early ammonia servicer jumper — a flexible hose assembly that connects parts of the station’s critical fluid cooling system — along with several other jumpers on the station’s S6 and S4 truss.
Both spacewalks were to be broadcast live on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and NASA’s YouTube channel.
Who Is Expedition 74?
Expedition 74 is a seven-member international crew that began in December 2025. The full team included four Crew-11 members aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft — Commander Mike Fincke (NASA), Flight Engineer Zena Cardman (NASA), Flight Engineer Kimiya Yui (JAXA, Japan), and Flight Engineer Oleg Platonov (Roscosmos, Russia) — plus three crew members already aboard the station: Commander Sergey Kud-Sverchkov (Roscosmos), Flight Engineer Chris Williams (NASA), and Flight Engineer Sergei Mikaev (Roscosmos).
The Crew-11 mission had launched aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endeavour in August 2025 and was originally expected to remain docked at the station until late February 2026, when a Crew-12 relief mission would arrive.
What Went Wrong: A Medical Emergency Rewriting History
On the afternoon of January 7 — just hours before Fincke and Cardman were due to begin suiting up for their EVA — NASA announced that the spacewalk was being postponed. The statement was brief: a crew member had experienced a medical concern, the situation was stable, and further details could not be shared for reasons of medical privacy.
Within 24 hours, the situation escalated significantly. NASA confirmed that the entire four-person Crew-11 mission would return to Earth early — not as an emergency evacuation, but as a carefully coordinated decision to get a crew member access to advanced medical imaging equipment unavailable aboard the space station. It was the first time in the 25-year history of the International Space Station that a long-duration mission had been cut short for medical reasons. A genuine piece of space history, made under deeply uncertain circumstances.
On January 15 — the same day Spacewalk 95 had been scheduled to begin — Fincke, Cardman, Yui, and Platonov instead boarded their SpaceX Dragon Endeavour capsule and undocked from the station. After a 10.5-hour journey home, the capsule splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego. Recovery teams were on hand immediately, and all four crew members were transported to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla for evaluation.
The station’s population dropped to just three crew members — Kud-Sverchkov, Williams, and Mikaev — for approximately one month until the Crew-12 relief mission arrived after launching from Cape Canaveral on February 14.
Mike Fincke Speaks: “Spaceflight Reminds Us How Human We Are”
For six weeks, NASA declined to reveal which crew member had experienced the medical incident, citing privacy concerns. On February 25, 2026, veteran astronaut Mike Fincke released a personal statement publicly identifying himself as the crew member involved.
“I experienced a medical event that required immediate attention from my incredible crewmates,” Fincke wrote. “Thanks to their quick response and the guidance of our NASA flight surgeons, my status quickly stabilised.”
NASA’s Chief Health and Medical Officer, Dr. James Polk, explained the decision-making process during a January press conference: the ISS is stocked with portable ultrasound machines and essential medical equipment, but does not have the full diagnostic imaging hardware available in a terrestrial emergency department. “We’re erring on the side of caution,” Polk said.
Fincke, 58, is one of NASA’s most experienced astronauts — a retired U.S. Air Force colonel who has spent 549 days in space across four missions, completed nine spacewalks totalling 48 hours and 37 minutes, and was instrumental in developing both the SpaceX Crew Dragon and Boeing Starliner spacecraft. He has not publicly disclosed the nature of his medical condition.
In his statement, Fincke reflected with characteristic grace on the experience: “Spaceflight is an incredible privilege, and sometimes it reminds us just how human we are. I’m doing very well and continuing standard post-flight reconditioning at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.”
You can read the full official account of the mission and its aftermath on NASA’s news releases page.
What Were the Spacewalks Actually For? A Deeper Look
The postponed EVA 94 was part of a broader, critical programme to upgrade the space station’s power generation capabilities before its planned deorbit at the end of this decade. NASA has been progressively installing Roll-Out Solar Arrays (IROSAs) across the station since 2021. These lightweight, flexible solar panels unfurl like a scroll and are significantly more efficient than the station’s original rigid solar arrays, which are now over 20 years old. Each IROSA installation adds meaningful power generation capacity to the station and forms part of the infrastructure required to support the station’s final years of operation safely.
EVA 95’s tasks — replacing a camera, installing a planar reflector navigation aid, and relocating ammonia jumpers — are the kind of methodical, essential maintenance work that keeps the station operational. The planar reflector is particularly interesting: it’s a passive navigation marker that helps visiting spacecraft, including commercial cargo vehicles, locate and align with docking ports more accurately. As traffic to the station increases in the coming years — from SpaceX Dragon, Northrop Grumman Cygnus, JAXA’s HTV-X vehicles, and eventually commercial crew missions — reliable navigational infrastructure becomes increasingly important.
Both spacewalks are expected to be rescheduled and conducted by the Expedition 74 or Crew-12 team. Space.com’s full 2026 space calendar is the best place to track updated EVA dates as they are announced.
How to Watch Future NASA Spacewalks Live
NASA provides free live coverage of all spacewalks across multiple platforms. When the rescheduled EVAs take place, you can watch on:
- NASA+ — NASA’s free streaming service, available on web and app
- NASA on YouTube — Live stream with real-time commentary
- Amazon Prime Video — NASA channel is available free within Prime
- NASA Space Station Blog — Live text updates and mission status
Coverage typically begins 90 minutes before EVA start time. Spacewalks usually last between six and seven hours and are covered in their entirety, with NASA commentators explaining each task in real time.
Why Spacewalks Matter More Than Ever
The International Space Station is scheduled to be deorbited and safely guided into the Pacific Ocean around 2030, ending its remarkable 30-year run as humanity’s permanent home in low Earth orbit. In the years remaining, NASA and its international partners need to balance ongoing scientific research with critical maintenance, upgrades, and deorbit preparations — all carried out through spacewalks like EVA 94 and 95.
At the same time, the commercial space era is accelerating. Companies like Vast Space are building private space stations, with their Haven-1 module expected to launch no earlier than May 2026 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9. The knowledge, procedures, and infrastructure developed through decades of ISS spacewalks will directly inform how humans live and work in orbit for the next generation.
Closer to home, the Crew-11 medical emergency is quietly accelerating research into space medicine. NASA is now exploring how to bring more advanced diagnostic equipment to future stations — and potentially to deep space vehicles heading to the Moon and Mars, where medical evacuations simply won’t be possible. Fincke himself noted during his post-mission press conference that the ISS’s portable ultrasound machine proved invaluable during his incident, while pointing out the gap that still exists between in-orbit and Earth-based medical capabilities.
As always, the work continues. Follow all updates on NASA’s upcoming spacewalks and missions at nasa.gov.
