NASA Canceled Spacewalk Because Astronaut Had Pinched Nerve

We finally know what happened.

Pinched Nerve

NASA revealed yesterday that Mark Vande Hei, a current crew member on the International Space Station, suffered a "minor medical issue" that caused Tuesday’s scheduled spacewalk to be delayed.

While NASA said that the issue was "not a medical emergency" and didn’t respond to Futurism’s request for comment, we've finally heard from Vande Hei himself via his Twitter account, who says the issue was merely a pinched nerve — a reminder that even veteran astronauts are human and are dealing with their own medical issues while in space.

Expect Delays

As NASA originally said, it doesn't sound like a serious injury.

"Thanks for everyone’s concern," the 54-year-old former US Army officer tweeted today. "I have a pinched nerve in my neck that caused us to reschedule today’s spacewalk."

Fortunately, he's not alone.

"The support from family, friends, and NASA leadership has been fantastic," he added.

The pinched nerve forced NASA to delay the spacewalk with Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide. The plan was to install a bracket for the ISS' massive new solar wings.

For now, the upgrade has to wait.

"I’m looking forward to installing this [ISS advanced solar array upgrades] MOD kit," Vande Hei wrote. "Today just wasn't the right day."

More on the incident: Astronaut Suffers Medical Incident on Space Station