A cosmonaut from International Space Station he had to end his spacewalk abruptly due to a problem with the batteries in his Orlan-MKS suit. the russian Oleg Artemyevcommander of Expedition 67, came out unharmed and without major complications.
It happened this Wednesday, August 17, during a journey together with his compatriot, Denis Matveev. Roscosmos cosmonauts were installing two cameras on the European robotic arm of the ISS, when the problem became known.
Roscosmos reported through your Telegram account:
“Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev, due to a spacesuit battery malfunction, returned to the airlock and connected to the halyard to power the spacesuit. The situation is under the control of the Mission Control Center near Moscow. The cosmonaut’s health is not threatened.”
“I urgently need to go back,” said cosmonaut Artemyev
Oleg Germanovich Artemyev (Artemiev, according to another spelling), 51 years old, he is an engineer born in Latvia, former USSR. A cosmonaut since 2003, he has traveled to space three times since 2014.
His recent stay on the International Space Station began with Expedition 66 on March 18, 2022. He assumed command of Expedition 67 from Thomas Marshburn on May 5.
The cosmonaut explained to the Russian Control Center that the voltage was very low, “I urgently need to return, because if the battery runs out completely (…) communication can be lost,” according to RussiaToday.
NASA noted that during the spacewalk, “The two cosmonauts completed the installation of two cameras on the European robotic arm, before Artemyev’s Orlan spacesuit displayed abnormal battery readings.”
“The Control Center instructed Artemyev to return to the Posik airlock, to connect to the space station’s power supply.”
According to the US agency, cosmonaut Sergey Korsakov, inside the station, placed the European arm in a safe configuration, while his compatriot Matveev returned to the Poisk lock.
Neither Artemyev nor Matveev were in danger, agree Roscosmos and NASA.
A timely decision, according to the creator of the Russian suit
Sergey Pozdnyakov, general director of the Zvezda Scientific Production Enterprise, in charge of the Orlan-MKS spacesuit, explained to TASS that the decision taken was the most convenient.
“The decision to return and switch to onboard power was made based on analysis of telemetry and spacesuit display readings, and was quite timely.”
Although Zvezda is the producer of the Orlan spacesuit, the batteries used come from another company, whose name was not released by TASS.
Russia stated that it will leave the International Space Station after 2024, due to the aging of the joint laboratory. Roscosmos would be building a new space station in the future, expected in the early 2030s.