Russian cosmonauts prep for spacewalk to configure European robotic arm

Russian cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) are gearing up for a spacewalk on Wednesday, August 17, to continue outfitting the European robotic arm on the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module.

Expedition 67 Commander Oleg Artemyev and Flight Engineer Denis Matveev of Roscosmos, will begin the six-and-a-half-hour excursion by exiting the station's space-facing Poisk module at around 9:20 a.m. This will be the seventh spacewalk for Artemyev and the third for Matveev.

During the upcoming excursion, the Russian duo will install cameras on the European robotic arm, relocate an external control panel for the arm from one operating area to another, remove launch restraints near the two end effectors or “hands” of the arm, and test a rigidizing mechanism on the arm that will be used to facilitate the grasping of payloads.

The European robotic arm will be used to move payloads and equipment outside the Russian segment of the station, joining the Canadian-built Canadarm2 robotic arm and the Japanese arm already supporting station maintenance, operations, and research.

Live coverage of the August 17 spacewalk will air at 9 a.m. EDT on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.

.@NASA TV will broadcast two cosmonauts going on a spacewalk on Wednesday, Aug. 17, to continue outfitting the European robotic arm for payload operations. https://t.co/zNVV19uHWD

— International Space Station (@Space_Station) August 10, 2022

Meanwhile, the Expedition 67 crew is also packing a U.S. cargo craft for its return to Earth later this month. The SpaceX Dragon cargo resupply spacecraft will depart the International Space Station on Thursday, August 18. It will carry back to Earth more than 4,000 pounds of supplies and scientific experiments that were designed to take advantage of the space station's microgravity environment.

Dragon's undocking and departure activities will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency's website beginning at 10:45 a.m. EDT.