Russian cosmonauts' spacewalk integrates lab in ISS

Two Russian cosmonauts carried out a nearly 8-hour long spacewalk on the International Space Station (ISS) to integrate the new Nauka module, NASA and Russian space agency Roscosmos said Saturday. 

Cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov took part in the operation, which lasted seven hours and 54 minutes. The two cosmonauts completed their daily goal of connecting the module with power cables to the US segment of the station.

The module will serve as a multifunctional research laboratory aboard the ISS. It will also provide an additional toilet and extra space for cargo and oxygen regeneration equipment. 

The two cosmonauts will take part in another spacewalk on Thursday to do more work on the Nauka. Up to 11 spacewalks will be needed to fully integrate Nauka into the ISS.

Nauka was launched into space on July 21 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, with the module docking at the ISS on July 29.

Nauka module experienced possible software glitch

The integration of the module to the ISS hasn't always been a smooth process. The module briefly threw the ISS out of control shortly after its docking in July, with authorities saying the incident did not pose any danger to astronauts aboard the station.

Russian authorities have blamed the event on a software glitch.

Roscosmos official Sergei Krikalev said the incident did not cause damage to the ISS, but the implications of the event still need to be studied.

"It appears there is no damage," Krikalev said on Russian state-run television. "But it's up to specialists to assess how we have stressed the station and what the consequences are."

The ISS was launched in 1998. The station is split into a section managed by Russia and a section operated by the US and other countries.

The ISS is a collaborative effort not only between NASA and Roscosmos but also involves other major space agencies, such as JAXA in Japan, ESA in Europe and CSA in Canada.

wd/sms (Reuters, dpa)