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Cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev smiles for a portrait inside the International Space Station's Unity module. Alamy Stock Photo

'Drop everything and go': Russian spacewalk cut short due to issue with faulty suit

Wednesday’s mission was the seventh spacewalk for Oleg Artemyev.

A SPACEWALK BY two Russians ended abruptly due to a problem with the battery in cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev’s suit.

“Oleg, you must return to the airlock as soon as possible,” the Earth-based Russian mission controllers ordered, more than two hours into his trip outside the International Space Station (ISS).

“Drop everything and go back,” he was told multiple times, according to a live English translation broadcast by NASA.

The orders came soon after Artemyev reported abnormal voltage readings for his spacesuit’s battery.

“Please do not worry, everything is fine. You are OK,” the controllers said.

“Me? Worry? No way,” responded 51-year-old Artemyev, who took over the commander position of the ISS in May from American astronaut Thomas Marshburn.

Artemyev made his way back into the airlock where he successfully reconnected to the ISS’s main power.

He then waited for the second cosmonaut, Denis Matveyev, to gather all the supplies they had used on their mission, reenter and pressurize the airlock.

iss-40-eva-2-a-oleg-artemyev Oleg Artemyev on a previous spacewalk. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

The spacewalk was declared finished after about four hours.

“The situation is under control… The health of the cosmonaut is not in danger,” Roscomos in a statement afterward.

“The crew is doing well,” the Russian space agency added, noting that any uncompleted work will be finished later on.

Before the battery issue, the two cosmonauts installed two cameras outside the ISS.

“The duo was never in any danger during the operations,” NASA said in blogpost.

Wednesday’s mission was the seventh spacewalk for Artemyev and the third for Matveyev.

© AFP 2022

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    Mute tom McCormack
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    Oct 20th 2017, 7:21 AM

    What kind of pollution in Ireland kills 1800 people per year..
    Air pollution is non existent in Ireland.
    Water pollution does not kill anyone here.
    Does anyone know..

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    Mute O Swetenham
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    Oct 20th 2017, 8:31 AM

    Ah….noise pollution?

    14
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    Mute John Newman
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    Oct 20th 2017, 9:14 AM

    @tom McCormack: The journal wont listen to people who talk since and look for answers. Thats why the remove comments, only use what serves there agenda.

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    Mute Brian Carroll
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    Oct 20th 2017, 11:57 AM

    @tom McCormack: What, if you can’t see it it doesn’t exist? Plenty of gases are colourless and odourless Tom. Anyone who’s every had the misfortune of cycling behind a Dublin Bus would strongly disagree with you there.

    The Japanese won’t touch diesel for anything because of the amount of carcinogenic hydrocarbons in it…it makes up a tiny % of US road transport fuel as well. The links between diesel emission bi-products (PM 2.5, PM 10, SOx, NOx) and illness are pretty well established at this stage. I’d love to see a study of upper respiratory illness rates since 2008, when the road tax system was changed and diesel really took off.

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    Mute BlueSkyThinking
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    Oct 20th 2017, 9:29 AM

    1,800 deaths caused by pollution in Ireland? If only there was some sort of agency for protecting the environment….

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    Mute Éamonn Flynn
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    Oct 20th 2017, 4:17 PM

    @BlueSkyThinking: If only when they suggest something to help the problem, people would support it.

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    Mute Christine o'donnell
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    Oct 20th 2017, 7:27 AM

    Can you name one?

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    Mute William Grogan
    Favourite William Grogan
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    Oct 20th 2017, 9:22 AM

    Read up on the science behind Nuclear Power, understand it, support it or you’re part of the problem. It’s the only practical solution to air pollution and Climate Change.

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    Mute Patrick J. O'Rourke
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    Oct 20th 2017, 9:48 AM

    @William Grogan: The poker table was never a good place to find solutions to problems.

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    Mute Monty Donotno
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    Oct 20th 2017, 9:50 AM

    @William Grogan: hazardous stockpile capable of making environment uninhabitable at a time when terrorism is rife hardly the answer. Contraception and liberalising women globally is as important as looking at energy.

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    Mute Gerard Heery
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    Oct 20th 2017, 9:21 AM

    Nature’s way of looking after itself and over population of its panet

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    Mute Tom Newnewman
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    Oct 20th 2017, 9:30 AM

    Patriotic citizens consider it proper that they pay to provide for waste and sewage water disposal as it is a serious health issue.

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    Mute Neuville-Kepler62F
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    Oct 20th 2017, 2:01 PM

    Bonkers Fine Gael … no action on removing the tax incentives on purchase of new diesel cars and still penalising all of us pre-2008 car owners with bonkers annual motor tax of €580 for a modest 1.6 car v €280 for a new diesel Merc! … €300 annual tax penalty ….bonkers!

    800,000 Irish pre-2008 car owners should bring their brains to the polling booths ..next time.

    https://www.change.org/p/unfair-car-tax-law

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    Mute iMoan Brutal
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    Oct 20th 2017, 2:34 PM

    Thank you for calling it pollution and not climate change.

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    Mute Ray Muller
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    Oct 20th 2017, 5:15 PM

    @iMoan Brutal:
    Its only a matter of time!

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    Mute Ray Muller
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    Oct 20th 2017, 5:14 PM

    Approximately 56 million, innocent human beings are killed by abortion, worldwide each year! That’s 45 million more than this alleged “pollution”. Given Ireland has virtually no air pollution should we have a referendum next year to introduce some?

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    Mute Finn Mc Cool
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    Oct 20th 2017, 10:23 PM

    Something has to be put on the death cert I suppose…pollution is as good as any.

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