Russian cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev and Denis Matveev left the space station at 10:58 a.m. ET to start their spacewalk, which is expected to take about 6.5 hours. Live coverage of the space shuttle is being broadcast on the television channel and the NASA website. Artemiev will be recognizable in the Russian Orlan space suit with red stripes, while Matveev is wearing a space suit with blue stripes. This is the second spacewalk for Matveev and the fifth for veteran spacewalker Artemyev. Artemyev and Matveev work on the robotic arm outside Russia’s Nauka multipurpose unit. Their work began during a space walk on April 18. On this initial spacewalk, the duo installed and attached a control panel for the 37-foot-long (11.3-meter-long) robotic arm. Matveev and Artemyev will also try the first moves of the mechanism. The cosmonauts will bend the robotic arm joints, release the restraints and test its ability to fight. This robotic arm will be used to assist space walkers and transport any objects that need to be moved outside the Russian part of the space station in the future. It is the fifth spacewalk outside the space station this year and the 250th in total to support the assembly, maintenance and upgrade of the orbiting laboratory. These paired tours are the first of the upcoming space walks that will focus on preparing Nauka and the robotic arm for future use.
