Russian and US flight controllers decided to cut short a spacewalk by two cosmonauts outside the International Space Station after the Orlan spacesuit they were wearing malfunctioned. Artemeyev was ordered to drop what he was working on and return to the airlock about halfway through the seven hour EVA.
One of the messages heard during the spacewalk was "drop everything and start going back right away" If you lose power, it's not only the pumps and the fan, you will lose comm. You need to return.
Artemyev was told to connect his suit up to internal power after he reentered the Poisk airlock.
Denis Matveev was outside the International Space Station for more than an hour before flight controllers decided to end the spacewalk. Artemyev joked with flight controllers that he felt better than when he started the spacewalk, according to a Russian translator. One of the cosmonauts said, "I think we need some solar panels on the Orlan so we can replenish our batteries."
After four hours, the spacewalk ended.
According to NASA officials, Artemyev was never in danger. If there is a problem with a spacesuit, urgent action should be taken. Spacesuit problems can quickly get out of hand.
And in particular, if you are working outside in vacuum in a malfunctioning spacesuit, anyone who says you'r e in no danger – to quote John Young – 'don't understand the problem'.
— Jonathan McDowell (@planet4589) August 17, 2022
Artemyev and Matveev installed a camera on the European Robotic Arm during the spacewalk. They were trying to install a second camera when they noticed the fluctuations in Artemyev's spacesuit.
The commander of the International Space Station is Artemyev. Artemyev and Matveev have done seven spacewalks. The cosmonauts wore Russian-made space suits. The Extravehicular Mobility Unit is a US-made spacesuit used by US and European astronauts.
The spacewalkers need enough air and pressure to breathe for at least seven hours in a self-contained suit. Since the first segment of the International Space Station was launched in 1998, more than 250 spacewalks have been conducted for construction, maintenance and science outside of the space station.
There is more info on the NASAISS.
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