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A suit battery problem ended the Russian spacewalk


Oleg Artemyev and Denis Matveev during the Extravehicular Activity (EVA) on April 28th - Credit: NASA

At 15:53 on August 17, 2022, Russian cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev and Denis Matveev began the 63rd Russian spacewalk on the ISS, known as RS EVA-54, with the hatch opening.


The Extravehicular Activity

The cosmonauts, after wearing the Orlan suits, left the Poisk airlock and then moved outside the Nauka module.

The European Robotic Arm. At both ends you can see the CLUs that were installed during this walk. - Credit: ESA

The duo's first task was to install two Camera Light Units (CLU) at either end of the European Robotic Arm (ERA).


During the installation of an additional camera on the second section of the arm, about 2 hours and 17 minutes after the start of the EVA, a voltage drop was detected in the battery of Artemyev's suit.


Due to the suit problem, Artemyev returned to the Poisk airlock where he connected the suit to the International Space Station's electrical system.


From inside the station, cosmonaut Sergey Korsakov placed ERA in a safe position while Denis Matveev, after completing some cleaning activities, returned to the airlock, finishing the spacewalk after 4 hours and 1 minute from the start.


Immagine di riepilogo delle attività previste per la camminata - Credit: NASA

According to the plans, the cosmonauts should have moved the External Man Machine Interface (EMMI) from its current position to the front of the Nauka module, where it will be attached to a handrail.


The EMMI allows cosmonauts to manually control the ERA directly during spacewalks.

Thanks to this, the cosmonauts would then have to carry out tests with the arm and then send the command to 'cling' to the BTL2 base point.

The two would then have to set and check numerous settings on both arm ends and remove a cover used for launch.


Any tasks that have not been completed during this spacewalk will be carried out in the next EVAs.


The two cosmonauts carried out the seventh Extravehicular Activity of the International Space Station in 2022, the fifth from Russia this year.


During the whole walk Oleg Artemyev and Denis Matveev were never in danger.




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