The 43rd Russian Stage (RS) EVA from the ISS (International Space Station) was conducted on 17 August. Taking part in the spacewalk were Expedition 52 cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Sergey Ryazansky, who spent an extended seven hours 34 minutes outside the station. The spacewalk was originally planned for just six hours however, jobs concerning a strut and two handrails took longer than anticipated, resulting in the cosmonauts eventually being ordered back inside without starting their final EVA objective.
Cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Sergey Ryazansky outside the ISS. Courtesy of NASA
After completing their first task, the removal of the Restavratsiya experiment, the cosmonauts moved onto the deployment – literally the throwing off – of five nanosatellites held in the Russian section. The satellites were first carried to the aft of the ISS before being released one-by-one – the first by Yurchikhin and the remaining four by Ryazansky. The first satellite to be deployed was the TOMSK-TPU-120 3U Cubesat deployed at 1510 GMT. This was followed by the two TANYUSHA SWSU 3U Cubesats a minute apart at 1515 GMT and 1516 GMT. This was followed by the TNS-2 5.1 kg nanosatellite at 1521 GMT and the final SFERA-53-2 13 kg sphere microsatellite at 1529 GMT.
The spacewalk officially began at 1436 GMT, with the opening of the Pirs outer airlock, and ended at 2210 GMT, after sealing the Pirs airlock. This was the seventh spacewalk of the year, but the first one conducted by the Russians. Three more USOS (US Operating Segment) spacewalks are planned before the end of the year, but the Russians will have to wait until January 2018 for their next excursion.
