CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) – An Italian astronaut joined a Russian cosmonaut in a rare space show of unity Thursday as tensions over Ukraine continued to reverberate at home.
Italy’s Samantha Cristoforetti teamed up with Russia’s Oleg Artemyev to work on the International Space Station’s newest robotic arm. The 37-foot (11-meter) mechanical limb, provided by the European Space Agency, was put into orbit with a Russian laboratory last July.
The recently replaced head of the Russian Space Agency, Dmitry Rogozin, threatened to halt installation work last week, calling the spacewalk into question. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, Europe withdrew from its cooperation with Russia on a mission to Mars.
Italian astronaut joins Russian cosmonaut for spacewalk, cosmic show of unity as tensions over Ukraine continue (July 21 / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Despite the turmoil on Earth, the space station’s seven residents have repeatedly stressed that they are doing well up there, as are the flight control teams in Houston and Moscow. The current crew includes three Americans, three Russians and Cristoforetti.
Russian cosmonauts usually team up for spacewalks, although NASA and European Space Agency astronauts occasionally ventured out with them years ago.
Before tackling the arm’s installation work, Artemyev launched 10 mini-satellites overboard, one by one, in a radio technology experiment. Each weighed only 1 pound (half a kilogram) and rotated slowly as they were released.
The first six bounced harmlessly away, but the seventh struck the sun wing and frame of the space station. Artemiev said the contact was very light. NASA agreed there was no concern of damage.
Russian mission control urged Artemiev to be more careful, and his pitch improved for the final three satellites.
The seven-hour spacewalk was a first for Cristoforetti, the lone woman in the European Space Agency’s astronaut corps. Artemyev, the station commander, is now a six-time spacewalker.
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The Associated Press Department of Health and Science is supported by the Department of Science Education at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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