Russian and European astronauts conduct rare joint spacewalk
CNNNew York CNN Business — Two astronauts — one European and one Russian — exited the airlock on the International Space Station for a spacewalk on Thursday, marking the first time in more than 20 years such a joint endeavor has taken place. Samantha Cristoforetti, an Italian astronaut with the European Space Agency, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev entered the vacuum of space in their puffy white spacesuits before 11 a.m. This marks the third spacewalk that ISS astronauts have conducted to work on the installation of the European Robotic Arm, which will be able to move objects in and out of the space station for maintenance and even inspect the space station’s exterior using built-in cameras. NASA Artemyev and Cristoforetti kicked off their spacewalk Thursday by deploying “ten nanosatellites designed to collect radio electronics data.” Since the space station is already traveling at orbital speeds, deploying satellites is as easy as tossing them in one direction or another.
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