A Russian cosmonaut had to cut short his spacewalk because of an issue with his spacesuit. After only a few hours into the walk that was originally intended to go on for seven hours, the cosmonaut was ordered to stop everything and return to the International Space Station’s airlock.
“Oleg, you must return to the airlock as soon as possible,” Russian mission controllers ordered.
“Drop everything and go back,” he was told multiple times, as per a NASA broadcast.
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NASA officials said that there were problems with cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev’s battery pack that powers the spacesuit, which is why he was asked to return to the station and attach it to ISS power. Officials say there wasn’t any risk to Artemyev’s life, who was warned several times before he finally returned.
Artemyev and the other cosmonaut, Denis Matveev, were out to install two cameras on the new European robotic arm affixed to the space station’s exterior on a Russian-controlled portion of the ISS. The issues with the battery pack were causing “voltage fluctuations” in Artemyev’s spacesuit, according to a commentary on the spacewalk livestream.
Matveev then gathered all the instruments and upon his return Artemyev pressurized the airlock. The spacewalk lasted only about four hours.
“The situation is under control…The health of the cosmonaut is not in danger. The crew is doing well,” Russian space agency Roscosmos said in a statement.
(With inputs from agencies)
