Russian and European Spacewalkers Wrap Up Robotic Arm Excursion at Space Station

ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti works outside the space station’s Russian segment to configure the new European robotic arm. Credit: NASA TV

Expedition 67 Commander Oleg Artemyev of Roscosmos and Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti of ESA (European Space Agency) concluded their spacewalk on July 21 at 5:55 p.m. EDT (2:55 p.m. PDT) after 7 hours and 5 minutes.

Artemyev and Cristoforetti completed all but one of their major objectives during the spacewalk. Completed tasks include the deployment of 10 nanosatellites designed to collect radio electronics data during the spacewalk and installing platforms and workstation adapter hardware near the 37-foot-long manipulator system mounted to Nauka. The pair of spacewalkers also relocated the arm’s external control panel and replaced a protective window on the arm’s camera unit. The final planned activity, to extend a Strela telescoping boom from Zarya to Poisk, was not completed. This task will be completed on a future spacewalk.

Expedition 67 Commander Oleg Artemyev of Roscosmos and Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti of ESA began a spacewalk at 10:50 a.m. ET to continue outfitting the European robotic arm on the space station’s Nauka laboratory by opening the hatch of the Poisk docking compartment airlock. Credit: NASA TV

Additional spacewalks are planned to continue equipping the European robotic arm and to activate Nauka’s airlock for future spacewalks.

The work done on the European robotic arm will be used to move spacewalkers and payloads around the Russian segment of the station.

This was the sixth spacewalk in Artemyev’s career as a cosmonaut and the first for Cristoforetti. It was the sixth spacewalk at the space station in 2022 and the 251st spacewalk for space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.