Five new ports waiting for the traffic that would soon arrive
Two hundred and fifty miles above Earth, on a January morning in 2022, Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov stepped outside the International Space Station to prepare a newly arrived module for the ships that would soon come calling. Their work — methodical, unglamorous, essential — was the 246th such excursion in the station's history, a quiet reminder that humanity's permanent presence in orbit is sustained not by grand gestures but by careful hands attending to the infrastructure of possibility. The Prichal module, with its six new docking ports, was not yet ready to receive visitors; it would be, once these two men had finished.
- A newly docked Russian module sat equipped with ports but stripped of the hardware needed to safely guide any spacecraft home — the clock was ticking before a crewed Soyuz was due in March.
- Shkaplerov and Dubrov suited up for six to seven hours in the vacuum of space, armed with handrails, antennas, cameras, and docking targets — the unglamorous toolkit on which lives would depend.
- The stakes were absolute: without precise docking targets and communication hardware, no approaching spacecraft could align safely with Prichal's open ports.
- By the end of the day's work, five of Prichal's six ports would stand ready to welcome the first of what Russia envisions as a new era of orbital traffic.
- The spacewalk — the 246th in ISS history and the first of 2022 — landed the station one step closer to its next crew rotation, with Expedition 67 now within reach.
On a January morning in 2022, cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov exited the International Space Station 250 miles above Earth to spend six or seven hours outfitting a module that had arrived just weeks before. Their work was broadcast live on NASA Television, beginning around 7:30 a.m. Eastern time.
The target was Prichal, a cylindrical Russian module that had docked without incident in late November, bringing six new ports to the station's Russian segment. One port was permanently joined to the science module Nauka; the other five awaited visiting spacecraft — but not before the module was properly prepared. Shkaplerov and Dubrov were there to do exactly that.
Their task list was methodical: install handrails for future spacewalkers, mount communication antennas, attach an external camera, and position docking targets to guide approaching ships into precise alignment. Without these, the first crewed Soyuz — scheduled to arrive in March as part of Expedition 67 — could not safely complete its approach.
Shkaplerov, in a red-striped Orlan suit, led the excursion as his third career spacewalk; Dubrov, in blue stripes, was on his fourth. The outing was counted as the 246th extravehicular activity in ISS history and the first of the new year — a reminder that the station's permanence is built not on spectacle, but on the steady, essential work of two people in suits, turning bolts in the void.
On a January morning in 2022, two Russian cosmonauts suited up for a day of work that would take place 250 miles above Earth. Anton Shkaplerov, commanding Expedition 66, and Pyotr Dubrov, a flight engineer with Roscosmos, were scheduled to exit the International Space Station and spend six or seven hours installing equipment on a module that had arrived just weeks earlier. The spacewalk would begin around 7:30 a.m. Eastern time, with live coverage starting an hour earlier on NASA Television and across the agency's digital platforms.
The target of their work was the Prichal module, a cylindrical addition to the Russian segment of the station that had docked without incident in late November. The module represented a significant expansion of Russia's orbital infrastructure—it carried six new ports where visiting spacecraft could connect, one of which was permanently linked to the science module Nauka. The other five ports remained open, waiting for the traffic that would soon arrive. Before any visiting ships could dock safely, however, the module needed preparation. Shkaplerov and Dubrov would be the ones to ready it.
Their task list was specific and methodical. They would install handrails to guide future spacewalkers, mount antennas for communication, attach a television camera for external monitoring, and position docking targets—visual markers that would help approaching spacecraft align themselves precisely with the ports. These were not glamorous tasks, but they were essential. Without them, the first crewed Soyuz scheduled to arrive in March could not safely complete its approach.
The two men would be instantly recognizable to anyone watching the live feed. Shkaplerov wore a Russian Orlan spacesuit marked with red stripes, identifying him as the lead spacewalker. Dubrov's suit bore blue stripes. For Shkaplerov, this would be his third career spacewalk. For Dubrov, it would be his fourth. Both were experienced, though the work outside the station never became routine—the environment remained hostile, the stakes remained high, and the margin for error remained zero.
This spacewalk was being counted as the 246th extravehicular activity conducted in support of the International Space Station since construction began. It was also the first of 2022, marking the beginning of another year of maintenance, assembly, and incremental expansion of humanity's permanent foothold in orbit. The Prichal module itself was part of a larger Russian modernization effort that had unfolded over recent months, a visible commitment to the station's continued operation and growth.
The significance of the work extended beyond the technical details. The module's five open ports represented future possibility—they were invitations to other nations and spacecraft to dock, to contribute, to participate in the shared enterprise of the station. The first to accept that invitation would be a Soyuz carrying three crew members, arriving as part of Expedition 67. That spacecraft would not be able to make the journey, however, until Shkaplerov and Dubrov had finished their work in the vacuum outside, installing the invisible infrastructure that makes arrival possible.
Citações Notáveis
The spacewalk would install handrails, antennas, a television camera and docking targets to allow the module to accept its first visiting spacecraft— Mission objectives
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why does a module that arrived in November need a spacewalk in January to prepare it? Couldn't they have done this work earlier?
The module itself arrived intact and docked successfully, but it's essentially a shell with ports. The handrails, antennas, cameras, and docking targets have to be installed by hand, in vacuum, by people in spacesuits. You can't do that remotely or from inside. It takes time to schedule, train, and execute.
And the docking targets—what exactly are those? Why can't a spacecraft just see the port and dock?
Think of them like landing markers. A Soyuz approaching at orbital speed needs precise visual references to align itself correctly with the port. The targets are essentially painted or reflective markers that the spacecraft's systems can lock onto. Without them, the approach becomes much riskier.
So this spacewalk is really about safety for the next crew.
Exactly. Shkaplerov and Dubrov are doing invisible work that makes the next arrival possible. No one will remember their names when the Soyuz docks in March, but that spacecraft won't arrive without what they're installing today.
Is this routine, or is there something unusual about this particular module?
It's routine in the sense that the ISS constantly needs maintenance and upgrades. But Prichal is significant because it expands the Russian segment's capacity. Five new ports for visiting spacecraft is a real expansion of what the station can accommodate. That's why the work matters beyond just keeping things running.