MOSCOW, Aug. 3 Two Russian cosmonauts manually launched a mini satellite from the International Space Station ( ISS) during a six-hour spacewalk Wednesday, said the Mission Control center near Moscow.

Sergei Volkov and Alexander Samokutyayev, who started the spacewalk with a 20-minute delay, found the 30-kg Kedr has lost one of its two antennas during its delivery to the ISS in January. After consulting with the Mission Control, they have decided to launch the device anyway, Interfax news agency reported.

The launch of the Kedr mini-satellite, designed to transmit greeting messages in 17 languages, Earth photos and telemetry data from its service systems, was delayed after the cosmonauts discovered that one of its two antennas was missing. It was later discovered hidden inside the satellite, whose name is derived from Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin’s call sign. The cosmonauts are now attempting to remove the antenna from inside and secure it onto the satellite.

The new research equipment to be installed by Samokutyayev and Volkov will allow the exchange of stream video packages between the station and Earth.

During the spacewalk, the cosmonauts were expected to install new stream video equipment on the station’s outer surface, and to take pictures holding photos of the founders of Russian space explorations, including Konstantin Tsiolkovski, Sergei Korolyov and Yuri Gagarin.

Source: Russian News