NASA delays space walk over astronaut's undisclosed 'minor medical issue'

NASA is delaying a spacewalk at the International Space Station this week because of an undisclosed medical issue involving one of its astronauts. Officials announced the postponement Monday, less than 24 hours before [caption id=“attachment_9910751” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] ISS crew member Mark Vande Hei of NASA won’t be able to conduct spacewalk due to a medical issue. Image credit: NASA[/caption] was supposed to float outside. Vande Hei is dealing with “a minor medical issue,” officials said in a statement. It’s not an emergency, they noted, but didn’t provide any further details. Vande Hei, 54, a retired Army colonel, has been at the space station since April and is expected to remain there until next spring for a full one-year mission. This is his second station stay. He and Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide were supposed to venture out Tuesday to install a bracket for new solar wings. NASA said the work can wait. The spacewalk will be rescheduled after this weekend’s planned supply run by SpaceX and a September series of spacewalks on the Russian side of the orbiting lab, according to NASA.