Russian Cosmonauts on Spacewalk VKD-64 | International Space Station

Russian Cosmonauts on Spacewalk VKD-64 | International Space Station

Russian Spacewalker #2, Aleksei Zubritsky in the Orlan-MKS No. 6 spacesuit with blue stripes

Station Commander and Russian Spacewalker 1, Sergei Ryzhikov, in the Orlan-MKS No. 7 spacesuit with red stripes, at work on the European Robotic Arm (ERA).

Station Commander and Russian Spacewalker 1, Sergei Ryzhikov, in the Orlan-MKS No. 7 spacesuit with red stripes at work on the European Robotic Arm (ERA).

Station Commander and Russian Spacewalker 1, Sergei Ryzhikov, in the Orlan-MKS No. 7 spacesuit with red stripes, at work on the European Robotic Arm (ERA).

Russian Spacewalker #2, Aleksei Zubritsky in the Orlan-MKS No. 6 spacesuit with blue stripes.

Station Commander and Russian Spacewalker 1, Sergei Ryzhikov, in the Orlan-MKS No. 7 spacesuit with red stripes, at work on the European Robotic Arm (ERA).

Logo of the Russian Federal Space Agency, commonly called Roscosmos.

On October 16, 2025, members of Expedition 73, Russian cosmonauts Sergei Ryzhikov and Aleksei Zubritsky began a six hour plus spacewalk on the exterior of the International Space Station's Russian segment. They installed the Ekran-M experiment for the production of semiconductors in the vacuum of space outside the Nauka module. They used the European Robotic Arm (ERA) during their work. The ERA is the first robotic arm capable of 'walking' around the ISS, moving hand-over-hand between fixed base points. The ERA consists of two limbs, each with gripper mechanisms. It also has seven motorized joints that allow for a wide range of motion. 

In addition, Ryzhikov and Zubritsky removed and discarded the High Resolution Camera (HRC) (installed in 2014) from the now defunct Canadian company UrtheCast. Finally, they cleaned Window No. 1 on the service module before returning to the airlock and closing the hatch at 02:19 Moscow Time on Oct. 17, 2025, after a 6-hour 9-minute spacewalk.

Russian Spacewalker#1 Sergei Ryzhikov, Orlan-MKS No. 7 spacesuit with red stripes

Russian Spacewalker#2 Aleksei Zubritsky, Orlan-MKS No. 6 spacesuit with blue stripes

Follow Expedition 73:
https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 73 Crew

Station Commander: Sergey Ryzhikov (Roscosmos)

JAXA Flight Engineer (Japan): Kimiya Yui

Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Alexey Zubritskiy, Oleg Platonov

NASA Flight Engineers: Jonny Kim, Zena Cardman, Mike Fincke

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada.

Image Credit: Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos)

Text Credits: Katya Pavlushchenko/Anatoly Zak
Image Date: Oct. 16, 2025

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