NASA announced live coverage on Wednesday, May 27, of a scheduled spacewalk by Russian cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The spacewalk will begin at about 10:15 a.m. EDT and is expected to last around five hours. Viewers can watch the event starting at 9:45 a.m. on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and NASA’s official YouTube channel.
The cosmonauts participating are Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, commander of ISS Expedition 74, and flight engineer Sergei Mikaev. Their primary tasks include installing a solar radiation experiment on the Zvezda service module and removing scientific equipment from the Poisk and Nauka modules, all located within the Roscosmos segment of the space station.
Pending available time during the spacewalk, they also plan to photograph a Kurs rendezvous antenna on the Progress 94 cargo spacecraft. This antenna failed to deploy during Progress 94’s March launch to the ISS.
This will mark Kud-Sverchkov’s second spacewalk and Mikaev’s first. Kud-Sverchkov will wear a spacesuit with red stripes, and Mikaev a suit with blue stripes. The activity will be the 279th spacewalk conducted in support of ISS assembly, maintenance, and upgrades since the station’s inception.
Why it matters
Spacewalks like this are critical for maintaining and upgrading the ISS’s systems, enabling ongoing research and safe operation. Installing the solar radiation experiment will help gather data related to space weather’s impact on station systems and crew health. Additionally, addressing hardware issues on visiting spacecraft, such as the stuck Kurs antenna, supports reliable cargo deliveries crucial for ISS logistics.
Background
Expedition 74 is a multinational crew mission responsible for maintaining the ISS and conducting scientific research in orbit. Roscosmos cosmonauts frequently perform extravehicular activities (EVAs) to service the Russian segment and international components of the station, highlighting ongoing international cooperation in space exploration.
Sources
This article is based on reporting and publicly available information from the following source:
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