Cosmonauts complete first spacewalk of 2022 to prepare Russian ISS segment

Two Russian cosmonauts completed the first spacewalk of 2022 outside the International Space Station to perform tasks that will allow spacecraft to dock with a new Russian segment.

Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov, of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, spent seven hours, 11 minutes outside the space station after exiting just after 7 a.m. EST.

The pair installed handrails, antennas and docking targets on Prichal module, which was launched and attached to the space station in November. They did not install two handrails as planned, instead stowing them for installation on a future spacewalk.

Three hours into the spacewalk, a Mission Control announcer in Houston had said the cosmonauts were on schedule.

"The crew is stepping through its timeline," the announcer said.

Prichal serves as a port where Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying people can dock. The first such mission in March will carry three cosmonauts.

The spacewalk was Shkaplerov's third and Dubrov's fourth.

Prichal is attached to the Russian Nauka module, which arrived at the space station in July.

Russia's new investments in the international endeavor are seen as confirmation it intends to remain a partner in the space station through 2030, the extent of its expected lifespan.

During future spacewalks, cosmonauts will prepare a European robotic arm on the Nauka and activate its airlock for future spacewalk activity.

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