Russian cosmonauts Denis Matveev and Oleg Artemyev of Roscosmos finished their spacewalk at 5:37 p.m. EDT and successfully installed a 37-foot-long robotic arm that would assist spacewalkers and cargo moving around one segment of their station.
The two spacewalkers installed the manipulator system mounted to the recently arrived Nauka multipurpose laboratory module after their six-hour-long operation. It was the fourth spacewalk in Artemyev's entire career and the first for Matveev.
Russian Spacewalk
It also marked the fourth spacewalk at the station in 2022 and the 249th conducted for space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades. In the next Russian spacewalk that is scheduled for Thursday, Apr. 28, the two cosmonauts will jettison thermal blankets that are used to protect the arm during its July 2021 launch with Nauka.
Furthermore, the two spacewalkers will flex the arm's joints, release launch restraints, and monitor the robotic arm's ability to use two grapple fixtures. More spacewalks will be planned in order to continue outfitting the European robotic arm and activate Nauka's airlock for future operations, as per NASA.
During the recent spacewalk, Artemyev wore a Russian Orlan spacesuit bearing red stripes while Matvev wore a spacesuit with blue stripes. The spacewalks are designed to prepare Nauka and the robotic arm for future use.
During a Friday news conference, NASA astronaut Dr. Tom Marshburn was asked how the geopolitical tensions with Russia have affected life on the space station. He said that the situation has been a "collegial, very friendly relationship together up here, and we're working together."
According to CNN, the astronaut added that the NASA crew and Russian cosmonauts regularly shared meals with each other and also watched movies together. Marshburn said that they all relied on each other because space was a very dangerous environment. He said they just follow their training and recognize that they are all up there for the same purpose.
Russia's Space Program
The situation comes as Russia is believed to have massive plans for its space program despite Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine. Quoted by the Russian state media news source TASS, Russian President Vladimir Putin was optimistic about the future of his country's space program.
He said that the Russian authorities will implement all mapped-out plans consistently and persistently despite the consequences of its war on its European neighbor. The sanctions imposed on Moscow are signs of international disapproval of the country's decision to invade Ukraine over "security issues."
Many of Russia's space partnerships have dissolved following the sanctions, such as Europe recently announcing that it will no longer participate in Russia's Luna series of robotic moon missions. Authorities also said that they will not launch the ExoMars rover, Rosalind Franklin, on a Russian rocket as previously planned.
Putin allegedly plans to continue its Luna-25 moon mission that is scheduled to launch later this year. Russia is also expected to continue a broadband satellite series called Sfera (Sphere), a "next-generation transportation spacecraft" and propulsion technologies focusing on nuclear capabilities in the coming years. However, he was relatively silent about military affairs in spaceflight, Space reported.
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