MOSCOW. Dec 19 (Interfax) - The Russian cosmonauts Alexei Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner have begun a spacewalk to install research equipment on International Space Station (ISS), according to a Roscosmos broadcast.
The spacewalk, which was scheduled begin at 6:10 p.m. Moscow time, has been delayed, the state corporation said in a statement on Thursday.
The plan is to install an X-ray spectrometer on the Zvezda module for an All-Sky Monitor experiment. "Aided by the spectrometer, scientists will conduct a periodic, almost full (84%) observation of the celestial sphere within the X-ray wavelength range every 72 days over three years (in all, 15 such observations are being planned)," the statement said.
On the Poisk module, the cosmonauts will dismantle two displays and two panels as part the Test and Endurance experiments. Ovchinin and Vagner also will remove the research equipment for a Control experiment, which since 2013 was measuring parameters of the immediate atmosphere surrounding the ISS.
In addition, the cosmonauts will transfer an external remote control panel using a European Robotic Arm (ERA) installed on the Nauka multipurpose module. Ovchinin will place himself into a mobile workplace on the ERA which will be operated by Alexander Gorbunov from aboard the station, and push the old equipment out into space.
For Ovchinin this is a second spacewalk in his space career; for Vagner, it is a first.
The previous Russian spacewalk was performed on April 25, 2024.
The current seven-member ISS crew consists of Roscosmos' Ovchinin, Vagner and Gorbunov and NASA's Nick Hague, Donald Pettit, Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams.