Cosmonauts Complete Successful Spacewalk For Upgrade

Saturday - May 6 2023, 05:12 UTC - 1 year ago

Two Russian Roscosmos cosmonauts completed a 7-hour spacewalk to relocate an experiment airlock from the Rassvet module to the Nauka science module with assistance from European robotic arm operator cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. They will be conducting another spacewalk on May 12 to deploy a radiator and connect mechanical, electrical and hydraulic lines.

Cosmonauts Prokopyev and Petelin completed a 7-hour spacewalk, relocating an experiment airlock and accomplishing major objectives. They will conduct another spacewalk on May 12 for further upgrades.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin concluded their spacewalk on May 3 at 11:11 p.m. EDT (8:11 p.m. PDT) after 7 hours and 11 minutes. Their spacewalk to relocate an experiment airlock from the Rassvet module to the Nauka science module began at 4:00 p.m.

Prokopyev and Petelin completed their major objectives, which included relocating an experiment airlock from the Rassvet module to the Nauka science module with assistance from European robotic arm operator cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev.

This was the fifth spacewalk in Prokopyev’s career, and the third for Petelin. It is the fifth spacewalk at the station in 2023 and the 262nd spacewalk for space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.

The two Roscosmos cosmonauts will also conduct a spacewalk on Friday, May 12, to deploy a radiator on Nauka and connect mechanical, electrical, and hydraulic lines. This final spacewalk will complete the swap of the experiment airlocks and Nauka module upgrades. The radiator will help disperse heat generated in Nauka.

The spacewalks allow important upgrades and repairs to the International Space Station while promoting better understanding of its benefits and effects on the safety and development of humanity. It enables important scientific research with the cosmonauts playing a critical role.

This spacewalk paid tribute to the ultimate human experience of space exploration that has been engaged in since the 1960s. The challenge of spacewalks bring out vivid stories that enter the chronicles of cosmonautics. It forever changes the lives of the cosmonauts, astronauts, and ground personnel involved in the operations.

Roscosmos’s expeditions are seeding us with ‘lunar’ ideas that will materialise in the coming years. They envision trips to the moon which will help unlock the true mysteries of the cosmos and understand the universe better. It is an upcoming paradigm shift that will revolutionise space exploration.