A prematurely-ended Russian spacewalk took place at the ISS Wednesday to continue preparations to fully activate the European Robotic Arm (ERA) and commission it for operational use.
The ERA, which launched to the station last year, will be used – among other things – to transfer a scientific airlock and radiator to the Nauka module.
The spacewalk, known as RS EVA-54, began with hatch opening on the Poisk module at 13:53 UTC on Wednesday, August 17, 2022, and was expected to last approximately six hours 45 minutes. However, two hours 17 minutes into the spacewalk, Artemyev observed a drop in battery voltage in his Orlan spacesuit and was ordered back to the airlock immediately.
After an hour of troubleshooting, Russian control teams determined that the EVA could not continue. The ERA was re-stowed, and Matveev joined Artemyev in the airlock.
Poisk’s hatch was closed at 17:54 UTC, bringing an end to the spacewalk.