Two cosmonauts at the International Space Station had to go on a spacewalk today, Jan. 27, to install cameras that they tried adding to the exterior of the station last month, according to the Associated Press.
Russian cosmonauts Oleg Kotov and Sergey Ryazanskiy completed the installation of two Earth-observing cameras that dealt with "connectivity issues" when they first tried installing them back on Dec. 27.
Kotov and Ryazanskiy were also able to retrieve scientific gear outside the ISS's Russian segment, according to AP.
The two worked so hard to complete the installation correctly this time around Russian Mission Control, located just outside Moscow, had to urge them to "get your breath."
"We'll force ourselves to rest," one of the spacewalkers replied in Russian.
The cameras were originally installed during a spacewalk right after Christmas, but ground controllers failed to receive any data from them, forcing the cosmonauts to bring everything back inside the ISS.
The problem has been attributed to indoor cabling and has been fixed, according to a report by NASA.
The two spacewalkers reattached the HD camera to the outside of the Russian portion of the space station, and "good electrical connectivity" has been reported between the Russian Mission Control and the instrument, according to AP.
Flight controllers have been happy with results so far overall.
"The second time a charm for its installation and activation," NASA spokesman Rob Navias said, according to AP.
Kotov and Ryazanskiy then installed the medium-resolution camera.
Images from both cameras will be handed out by UrtheCast Corporation. The cameras were launched into space last November by the Vancouver-based UrtheCast and the Russian Space Agency.
It should take about three months to calibrate the cameras, and the system should be up and running without any issues by summer 2014.
See Now: OnePlus 6: How Different Will It Be From OnePlus 5?
