Russian cosmonauts working aboard the ISS Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov are going to perform a spacewalk on November 18, – Roscosmos press office reports.
The cosmonauts on the whole will perform two spacewalks one in November 2020 and another in February 2021. It is necessary to prepare Pirs (Quay) module for the undocking planned for next year and future launch of Nauka (Science) module scheduled for April 2021. According to the source Progress cargo vehicle with Pirs will be deorbited and sank in the special designated region of the Pacific Ocean.
Initially the launch of Nauka was planned for May 2020, and earlier – for July.
In December 2019 Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Rogozin announced possible delay of the launch till 2021.
The development of Nauka module started at Khrunichev Centre in 1995. The module was designed as a ground-based back-up of Zarya fuctional cargo block. In 2013 when the module was handed over from the manufacturing plant to Energia Rocket and Space Corporation the testing discovered some foreign substances in propellant system. It was decided to return module for refinement.
The module is capable of producing oxygen for 6 persons and regenerating water from urine.
Besides Nauka will provide the cosmonauts with a second toilet, sleeping room for a crew member and European ERA manipulator that will enable to accomplish some works on the station surface without going to open space.
