Cosmonauts Open Hatch To New Russian ISS Module Nauka First Time

Cosmonauts on the International Space Station (ISS) opened the hatch into the Multifunctional Laboratory Module (MLM) Nauka for the first time, according to the negotiations of the crew with the Earth, broadcast by NASA

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th July, 2021) Cosmonauts on the International Space Station (ISS) opened the hatch into the Multifunctional Laboratory Module (MLM) Nauka for the first time, according to the negotiations of the crew with the Earth, broadcast by NASA.

"We opened the hatch," Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky told a mission control center.

Shortly before the opening, the fuel lines of the module were purged with helium and an oxidizer to bring the Nauka fuel system into a safe state.

Nauka docked to the ISS on July 29. Three hours later, its engines spontaneously activated, which led to a 45-degree turn of the station. To rebalance the ISS, the engines of the Zvezda module and the Progress MS-17 cargo vehicle were activated. There was no threat to the station's crew.