Spacewalk Success: Cosmonauts Install Debris Shields Outside the International Space Station

Cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev rides the European robotic arm for the first time during a spacewalk in this view from fellow cosmonaut Dmitri Petelin’s helmet cam. Credit: NASA TV

Cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin completed a spacewalk outside the International Space Station, attaching debris shields to the Rassvet module and testing the European robotic arm. This marked Prokopyev’s eighth and Petelin’s sixth spacewalk and the 267th spacewalk for station maintenance.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin concluded their spacewalk outside the International Space Station at 5:19 p.m. EDT on August 9 after 6 hours and 35 minutes. The spacewalk began at 10:44 a.m. EDT.

Prokopyev and Petelin attached three debris shields to the Rassvet module and tested the sturdiness of a work platform affixed to the end of the European robotic arm attached to the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module. Prokopyev was wearing an Orlan spacesuit with red stripes, while Petelin was wearing the suit with blue stripes.

Spacewalkers Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin are pictured working outside the space station during the installation of an experiment airlock on the Nauka science module on May 3, 2023. Credit: NASA

This was the eighth spacewalk in Prokopyev’s career, and the sixth for Petelin. It was the tenth spacewalk at the station in 2023 and the 267th spacewalk for space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.