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Two Russian cosmonauts on space station start spacewalk

The cosmonauts will have to dismantle the RK 21-8 radiometric system, as well as dismantle and push into space the 2ASF1-1 and 2ASF1-2 antennas from the MIM-2 module

Cosmonauts during a spacewalk outside the International Space Station (archive) EPA/NASA/HANDOUT

Cosmonauts during a spacewalk outside the International Space Station (archive)

© EPA/NASA/HANDOUT

KOROLYOV (Moscow Region), October 22. /TASS/. Russian cosmonauts Maxim Surayev and Alexander Samokutyayev from Expedition 41/42 crew have opened the hatches of the Pirs docking compartment of the International Space Station (ISS) and started their spacewalk on Wednesday, Mission Control told TASS.

“Surayev and Samokutyayev opened the hatches of the Pirs docking compartment and started extravehicular activity,” the Moscow Region-based Mission Control told a TASS correspondent.

The cosmonauts’ spacewalk will last about six hours. “During the extravehicular activity, we will perform the role of cleaners, as it will be necessary to remove some equipment,” Samokutyayev said earlier during a pre-launch conference in Star City.

The cosmonauts will have to dismantle the RK 21-8 radiometric system, as well as dismantle and push into space the 2ASF1-1 and 2ASF1-2 antennas from the MIM-2 module.

Besides, they will remove the protective cover from the Expose-R scientific equipment monoblock and take samples from the VL-2 window of the Pirs docking compartment as part of the Test space experiment.

This is the 40th spacewalk carried out in line with the ISS Russian segment’s program. The other Expedition 41/42 crew members — Yelena Serova, Alexander Gerst, Gregory Reid Wiseman and Barry Wilmore — will safeguard their colleagues from inside the space station.

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