Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergei Ryzhikov and Sergei Kud-Sverchkov left the International Space Station (ISS) for the first time and went into outer space.

The first opening of the exit hatch occurred after 18.00 Moscow time. Before the main activity outside the ISS started, the astronauts checked the functioning of the airlock and exit systems through the hatch, which had not been opened for about 11 years. After about 40 minutes, the hatch was reopened.

The work at Ryzhikov and Kud-Sverchkov will take about 5.5 hours in total.

According to the Roscosmos website, this is the first time both astronauts have worked outside the ISS.

They will have to replace the replaceable liquid flow regulator panel on the Zarya module, clean the glazing of the Zvezda service module windows and switch the Transit-B antenna of the telemetry system from the Pierce module to the Search module. In addition, they will change the sensor position of the pressure and deposition monitoring unit in the Search docking compartment.

If the astronauts perform this work earlier, an additional program has been prepared for them. Thus, for example, as part of the experiment in the aggregate compartment of the service module Star is planned to dismantle the tablet number 1 and install a tablet number 2 instead. This will further allow to determine with greater confidence the levels of contamination of scientific and service equipment on the outer board of the station.

Made in Russia

Author: Ksenia Gustova