Russian Cosmonaut's Historic Spacewalk Completes First Test Flight at the End of Robotic Arm at International Space Station

On Wednesday, August 9, two Russian cosmonauts conducted a live spacewalk outside the International Space Station (ISS). During their successful spacewalk, Russian cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev accomplished the first test flight at the end of the robotic arm of the space station.

Russian Spacewalkers Outside the ISS

Space.com initially reported that Prokopyev, the current commander of ISS Expedition 69, along with flight engineer Dmitry Petelin, conducted the extravehicular activity around 10:45 a.m. EDT (1445 GMT). The event can be viewed live through NASA's coverage starting at 10:15 a.m. EDT (1415 GMT).

During the spacewalk, Prokopyev and Petelin engaged in several tasks, as outlined in NASA's update on Monday, August 7. They attached three debris shields to the Rassvet module, as well as tested the durability of a work platform connected to the European Robotic Arm (ERA) on the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module.

NASA officials confirmed in the update that both cosmonauts have prior spacewalk experience, marking the mission as Prokopyev's eighth extravehicular activity and Petelin's sixth.

First To Ride the European Robotic Arm

During the six-hour and 35-minute spacewalk at the ISS, Prokopyev tested the resilience and strength of a portable workstation while riding on the ERA. Space.com reported in a separate article that this arm was incorporated into the ISS alongside the Nauka science module in July 2021; however, its active utilization within the Russian section began almost a year later in April 2022.

The ERA, stretching 37 feet (11.3 meters), had been employed to reposition a sizeable radiator and an experimental airlock following its integration. Yet, this instance marked its maiden use with a human on board.

During the experiment, cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, operating within the Nauka module, controlled the arm, maneuvering Prokopyev while fellow cosmonaut Petelin observed and captured images.

The test, lasting around 40 minutes, demonstrated the arm's potential for relocating cosmonauts during future spacewalks, resembling the capabilities of the station's primary arm, Canadarm2, utilized in the U.S. segment. Before this advancement, crew members relied on manually operated extendable "Strela" booms for transferring between modules during extravehicular activities (EVAs).

While assessing the arm, the two cosmonauts also placed debris shields to protect sections on the Rassvet mini-research module, where the relocated radiator and airlock had been situated.

After the spacewalk, the cosmonauts carefully discarded the protective shrouds, launch restraints, and towels used to cleanse their spacesuits. These disposals were executed meticulously to avoid any potential reencounter with the station before the discarded equipment re-enters Earth's atmosphere for destruction.

Following this, Prokopyev and Petelin re-entered the space station, sealing the hatch. The spacewalk, spanning 6 hours and 35 minutes, unfolded from 10:44 a.m. to 5:19 p.m. EDT (1444 to 2119 GMT).

This particular outing marked the 60th from a Russian airlock and the 267th overall EVA in support of the International Space Station's assembly and maintenance since 1998. It was the 10th spacewalk of the year and the eighth EVA during Expedition 69.

Check out more news and information on Spacewalk in Science Times.