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Russian cosmonauts Oleg Artemiev and Denis Matveev left the space station at 10:58 a.m. ET to begin their spacewalk, which is expected to last about six and a half hours.
Live reports from the spacewalk are broadcast on NASA’s television channel and website.
Artemiev will be recognizable in the Russian spacesuit Orlan with red stripes, while Matveev wears a spacesuit with blue stripes. This is the second spacewalk for Matveev and the fifth for veteran Artemiev.
Artemiev and Matveev work on the robotic arm outside the Russian multifunctional module Science. Their work began during a spacewalk on April 18.
On this initial spacewalk, the duo installed and connected a 37-foot (11.3-meter) robotic arm control panel.
Matveev and Artemiev will also test the first movements of the mechanism. The astronauts will bend the joints of the robotic arm, release the restraints and test its grip.
This robotic arm will be used to assist spacewalkers and to transport any items that need to be moved outside the Russian segment of the space station in the future.
This is the fifth spacewalk out of space this year and the 250th in total to support the assembly, maintenance and modernization of the orbital laboratory.
These paired excursions are the first of the upcoming spacewalk, which will focus on preparing Nauka and the robotic arm for future use.
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