WATCH LIVE: Spacewalkers Working Outside Zvezda For Installation And Experiment Work

(Before It's News)

NASA

Spacewalkers Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev exited the Pirs docking compartment at 10:10 a.m. EDT for about 6.5 hours of spacewalking tasks outside the Russian segment of the International Space Station.

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Their first task is to install a communications system antenna on the conical section of the Zvezda service module. They’ll spend about two hours and 45 minutes on that task which includes connecting cables, removing protective covers and photographing their work.

After competing that task and a few minutes of rest, the duo will move on to relocate a Russian experiment on Zvezda. The duo will spend about an hour moving the Obstanovka experiment hardware which monitors the plasma and magnetic environment that surrounds the space station. They’ll take pictures of the work area for later analysis on the ground.

Their next task will have them translate to a crew quarters window on Zvezda where they will swab samples for a test experiment. After a few minutes of rest during orbital night the spacewalkers will then remove and jettison an orbital debris experiment (MPAC) and a materials exposure experiment (SEED) attached to Zvezda’s large diameter aft section.

MPAC (Micro-Particles Capturer) and SEED (Space Environment Exposure Device) were two experiments developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency for installation on Zvezda.

The spacewalkers final job will be the relocation of a payload cargo boom on Zvezda. The relocation task sets up the area for future payload attachment work.

Skvortsov and Artemyev will wrap up their spacewalk by visually inspecting their spacesuits, wiping their gloves and jettisoning their towels. They will then collect and inventory their tools before entering Pirs and closing the hatches to officially end the first Expedition 40 spacewalk.

The last spacewalk occurred April 23 during Expedition 39. Astronauts Steve Swanson and Rick Mastracchio spent one hour and 36 minutes outside the station replacing a failed Multiplexer/Demultiplexer backup computer on the S0 truss.

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