Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
A Russian cosmonaut had to return to the International Space Station during a spacewalk on Wednesday (17 Aug 2022) due to abnormal battery readings in the space suit. Expedition 67 commander Oleg Artemyev and flight engineer Denis Matveev, both of the Russian Space Agency, were instructed by their flight controllers to cut short their journey into space due to a battery problem in the former’s Orlan spacesuit.
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the two astronauts were “never in any danger” during the operations.
Matveev, who remained outside for about another hour, was also asked to cut the spacewalk short because flight rules insist on a buddy system.
“You know, the start was so great,” Matveev said as he came back inside, with some work on the robotic arm installation left unfinished.
After reporting a voltage fluctuation in the battery power of his Orlan spacesuit, Exp 67 commander Oleg Artemyev has safely returned to the Poisk airlock until flight controllers can assess further. pic.twitter.com/LoQi2u6yUz
— International Space Station (@Space_Station) August 17, 2022
However, the two finished installing the two cameras on the European robotic arm before the battery voltage in Artemiyev’s suit suddenly dropped.
NASA said more spacewalks are planned to continue equipping Europe’s robotic arm.
“Work on Europe’s robotic arm will be used to move people and cargo around the Russian side of the station,” the US space agency said.
Artemyev and Matveev have installed the first of two cameras on the European robotic arm. Providing spacewalk support from inside the station, Sergey Korsakov will maneuver the arm so they can install the second. pic.twitter.com/5st2W0nSeT
— International Space Station (@Space_Station) August 17, 2022
Notably, it was Artemyev’s seventh career spacewalk and Matveev’s third.
It was the seventh spacewalk in 2022 and the 252nd spacewalk for space station assembly, maintenance and upgrades.
