Russian Cosmonauts Install High-Fidelity Camera on Space Station

Two Russian Expedition-38 cosmonauts reinstalled a high-fidelity camera on the exterior of the International Space Station at 3.08 p.m. EST. However, there was a minor glitch.

NASA announced that the Expedition-38 cosmonauts - Commander Oleg Kotov and Flight Engineer Sergey Ryazanskiy- wrapped up a camera job that was pending since their last spacewalk. In the latest 8 hour 7 minute spacewalk, the cosmonauts installed the equipment on the ISS and also brought back the scientific gear outside the station's Russian segment.

During the last spacewalk conducted Dec 27, 2013, the cosmonaut duo had tried to install the HD camera. The installation was part of an agreement between the Russian Space Agency and a Canadian firm. The camera is designed to capture images of earth.

However, the post-Christmas expedition to install the camera was unsuccessful due to a connectivity glitch that led to the spacewalkers hauling the camera back into the ISS.

During the latest spacewalk, cosmonauts installed the high resolution camera and a medium resolution camera. But, the medium resolution camera again suffered some telemetry issues. The duo checked with the electrical connections, but failed to spot the glitch.

"I put everything in place as it used to be, maybe even better," Ryazanskiy was quoted in Associated Press. "I think it's much better."

Cosmonauts said that one of the two cameras was able to transmit good signal while the status of the medium resolution camera remains the same. The cameras are owned by a Vancouver-based company UrtheCast. The company plans to create real-time videos of earth and sell images to subscribers. 

The latest spacewalk included retrieving a cassette for the Russian materials exposure experiment and the removal of the worksite interface adapter that will ensure the smooth functioning of the Canadarm2 robotic arm.

This was the fourth spacewalk conducted during the Expedition 38.  The first two spacewalks were conducted Dec 21, 2013 and Dec 24.