Two Russian cosmonauts labored to put in and retrieve science experiments whereas on a spacewalk exterior the Worldwide House Station on Wednesday (Could 27).
Expedition 74 commander Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and flight engineer Sergei Mikaev spent 6 hours and 5 minutes exterior the house station, conducting an extravehicular exercise (EVA) that ran from 10:18 a.m. to 4:23 p.m. EDT (1418 to 2023 GMT). The 2 spacewalkers put in a photo voltaic radiation experiment on the outside of the Zvezda service module and eliminated science {hardware} from the Poisk and Nauka modules on the station’s Russian section.
The Solntse-Teragerts telescope that the duo mounted exterior Zvezda was designed to watch and acquire information about robust photo voltaic flares emanating from the solar. The instrument will assist scientists enhance their prediction fashions and higher perceive photo voltaic flare exercise at completely different frequencies. The gadget is anticipated to function by means of 2028.
Kud-Sverchkov and Mikaev then rode at one finish of the European Robotic Arm (ERA), a 40-foot-long (11.3-meter) distant manipulator, to retrieve a cassette holding semiconducting materials produced by an experiment mounted exterior the Nauka mini-research module. The Ekran-M molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) experiment makes use of gallium arsenide to type ultra-pure, ultra-thin movies that may solely be borne below the microgravity atmosphere of house.
The cosmonauts bumped into some problem retrieving the cassette, together with dropping a pair of pliers and instructions despatched from the bottom failing to maneuver the experiment’s inside mechanisms. Nonetheless, with some workarounds, they had been capable of acquire the pattern for its return contained in the station.
Earlier than shifting on with their different duties, Kud-Sverchkov and Mikaev took a second to acknowledge the eightieth anniversary of RKK (RSC) Energia, Roscosmos‘ design bureau founded in August 1946. The spacewalkers held up a card printed with a commemorative logo and posed for photographs.
Not long after, Kud-Sverchkov asked Mikaev if he knew what day it was.
“The 27th,” replied the flight engineer.
“Today is the birthday of St. Petersburg,” said Kud-Sverchkov. “So, congratulations to all of the residents of St. Petersburg, on the day of the city. Our northern capital of Russia.”
The two cosmonauts then moved over to the Poisk module to inspect, photograph and secure one of the Kurs rendezvous antennas on the Progress MS-33 (ISS 94P) cargo spacecraft. The antenna failed to deploy when the vehicle launched to the space station in March, resulting in a manually controlled docking.
Wrapping up the EVA, Kud-Sverchkov and Mikaev retrieved a Biorisk science container holding samples of bacteria, seeds and other organisms and then jettisoned a bundle of used window cleaners before heading back inside the space station. All the activities planned for the outing were successfully completed.
The spacewalk on Wednesday was the second for Kud-Sverchkov and the first for Mikaev. Kud-Sverchkov now has logged 12 hours and 11 minutes working in the vacuum of space.
It was the 279th spacewalk in support of International Space Station assembly, maintenance and upgrades since 1998.
