Roscosmos Spacewalk 66

Why It Matters

The work installs and retrieves experiments that advance solar-flare, semiconductor and microbial research in microgravity while securing a malfunctioning Progress rendezvous antenna to prevent an unplanned deployment or hazard to station operations. These actions protect ISS hardware and preserve scientific integrity for ongoing international research.

Summary

Roscosmos conducted Spacewalk 66 with Expedition 74 cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikheyev conducting a roughly 5.5-hour EVA from the Poisk airlock. The pair installed a Sun TetraHertz payload on Zvezda, removed experiment cassettes for molecular beam epitaxy and the Biorisk microbiology study, and performed a detailed inspection, photography and tie-down of a failed Progress 94 automated rendezvous antenna. The European Robotic Arm, operated from Nauka by Andrei Fadeyev, maneuvered the spacewalkers between work sites on the Russian segment. This EVA is the 279th in ISS assembly/maintenance history and the second for Expedition 74 in 2026.

Original Description

Two Roscosmos cosmonauts, Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev, are set to conduct a spacewalk outside the International Space Station, beginning around 10:15 a.m. EDT (1415 UTC). The spacewalk will run for roughly five hours.

The pair will install a solar radiation experiment on the Zvezda service module and remove other science hardware from locations on the Roscosmos segment of the orbiting complex. If time allows, the duo also will inspect and photograph one of the Progress 94 cargo spacecraft’s Kurs rendezvous antennas.

Roscosmos spacewalk 66 will be the second for Kud-Sverchkov and the first for Mikaev. Kud-Sverchkov will wear a spacesuit with red stripes, and Mikaev will wear a spacesuit with blue stripes. This will be the 279th spacewalk in support of space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.

Learn more about International Space Station operations and research: https://www.nasa.gov/station

Credit: NASA