Cosmonauts Oleg Artemiev and Denis Matveev left the International Space Station on Wednesday for a routine spacewalk to work on the station’s European robotic arm. But a technical problem with Artemiev’s space suit, which could have proved fatal, sent him back early.
Artemiev’s Russian Orlan spacesuit experienced unexpected voltage fluctuations in its battery power just over two hours into what was supposed to be a nearly seven-hour spacewalk.
NASA TV is broadcasting the spacewalk live. At one point during the broadcast, a Roscosmos controller can be heard telling Artemiev to drop everything and return to the airlock as soon as possible to plug into the station’s power supply. This signals the urgency of the situation.
The Reported on ISS Twitter account the safe return of the astronaut.
According to a NASA update, “the duo was never in danger during the operations.” But any problem with the spacesuit during a spacewalk is cause for concern. The suits protect spacewalkers and provide life support while exposed to the hazardous environment outside the station. There have been some close calls before, like when an astronaut’s helmet filled with water in 2013.
Matveev performed some tasks on the robotic arm before also returning to the airlock earlier.