Russian crew members of the International Space Station Oleg Kononenko and Sergey Prokopiev on December 11 made a spacewalk. In total, they worked outside the ISS for 7 hours and 45 minutes. Their main task was to open the anti-meteorite protection of the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft and inspect the hole formed.
As explained in the Flight Control Center, this operation was carried out for the first time in the history of astronautics. The head of "Roscosmos" Dmitry Rogozin called it "unprecedented in complexity and risk." The work was complicated by the fact that the "Union" is not intended for repair in orbit. On the outer surface of the ship there are no devices for fastening astronauts: neither handrails, nor special transitions.
At the same time, as reported by Roscosmos, on Earth they took care of the maximum safety of the astronauts: they went out into outer space in special suits of the new generation Orlan-ISS.
# VKD45a: cosmonauts are exiting outside the station in spacesuits of the new generation Orlan-ISS. They have an automatic thermal control system installed, and the rubber containment of the spacesuit with polyurethane has been replaced.
Broadcasting → https://t.co/tL30gTow3Ypic.twitter.com/9tL59LoiWY
"They installed an automatic thermal control system, and replaced the rubber containment of the spacesuit with polyurethane," explained the organization.
The essence of the operation
During the spacewalk, Kononenko and Prokopiev successfully found a hole in the lining of the spacecraft and began to study it. They reported to everything at the MCC, where, at the same time, they also had a team of specialists and helped to process the incoming information.
The crew has been working for more than 5.5 hours. There is a study of damage to the plating of the ship. In MCC, experts study information coming from an external board pic.twitter.com/nD1Sa71gnp
- Dmitry Rogozin (@Rogozin) December 11, 2018In this case, the astronauts could not immediately find the hole after opening the protective panel. The MCC explained that the hole on the shiny case of the device looks like a dark spot. Kononenko during the operation said that the hole looks like a “spider spreading out” and there “there are some blotches”.
He found yellow-black formations around the hole.
“Some kind of terry yellow. And black, ”said Oleg Kononenko.
Recall that in August a microcrack was found in the lining of the Soyuz spacecraft. Then the astronauts treated it from the inside with a special sealant. This time, when entering the open space, Kononeko took samples of the sealant, as well as the substance of the surface around it. The resulting materials were placed in an insulating container. At the same time, in order to get to the hole, the astronaut cut off not one, as planned, but two pieces from the protective material. Samples of scrapings from the surface of the hole, as well as part of the micrometeorite protection panel, will be sent to Earth on December 20 for further research by specialists.
When performing work, the astronauts were in the open space for 1 hour 14 minutes longer than planned, so they did not begin to perform an additional task. It consisted in collecting the “Test” and “Endurance” experiment containers, left earlier on the “Search” module for studying the effects of cosmic radiation.
Preparing for spacewalk
Before working in orbit, Roskosmos conducted special training for Oleg Kononenko on Earth. The astronaut performed exercises in which possible extraordinary situations were worked out, which he could encounter in outer space.
- Cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko.
- AFP
- © Shamil Zhumatov
Astronaut Alexander Skvortsov was the substitute for Kononeko on Earth, while Sergei Prokopiev became his partner in space. During the operation, Kononenko stood on the Strela cargo manipulator, which is used to move cargoes and cosmonauts on the outer surface of the station, and Prokopyev controlled this device. Before sending to the ISS, the Russian cosmonaut explained what is so special about the upcoming work.
“I generally find the way out interesting, and even more so (work. - RT ), because the way out is really unique, technically difficult, although it seems to cut the EIR (screen-vacuum insulation. - RT ), to cut the anti-meteoroid protection, but it’s difficult it's technically difficult to get there, and physically hard. Such a task is a challenge, so Sergey Prokopyev and I accept it, ”said Kononenko.
Air leak investigation
In August of this year, the tightness of the on-board compartment of the Soyuz MS-09 ship was broken. Then the head of the Roscosmos state corporation, Dmitry Rogozin, did not rule out that the hole, which led to a breach of airtightness, could have appeared as a result of deliberate exposure.
There was also a version of the marriage in the production of the ship. But a specially created commission to investigate the causes of air leaks from the Soyuz MS-09 docked to the ISS assured that this option was excluded.
The Roscosmos Commission began its work on September 11. It was headed by Dmitry Rogozin, the competent authorities also take part in the work. Experts said they do not exclude the appearance of damage as a result of drilling. This could happen as a result of intentional or accidental actions.
“The terrestrial version is being checked. But there is another version that we do not dismiss, - a deliberate impact in space. There are several attempts to impact a drill, "- said Rogozin.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has declared its readiness, if necessary, to support the investigation of Roscosmos. In this case, the partners agreed not to make hasty conclusions and not to disseminate information about the possible causes of damage until the completion of the official investigation.