Russian astronauts on spacewalk for meteorite shield experimentsFebruary 16, 2012 - 19:53 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Two Russian astronauts began a six-hour spacewalk Thursday, February 16 to work on the International Space Station's (ISS) meteorite shields and perform experiments, according to the Interfax news agency. Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Anton Shaplerov were scheduled to install new shielding to protect the station's work module from microscopic rock particles and space junk, officials at Russia's national space agency Roscosmos said. The astronauts would also take samples from several sections of the station's exterior surface as part of ongoing research on the long-term effect of cosmic particles on a spaceship. They also planned to transfer one of the station's robot arms to a new work site, and carry out station maintenance. The ISS' shields and solar arrays are under constant bombardment by microscopic space particles. Astronauts sometimes use the station's rockets to shift its position, to avoid larger objects. Six astronauts are currently aboard the ISS: Shkaplerov, Kononenko, fellow Russian Anatoly Ivanishin, the US' Daniel Burbank and Donald Petit, and Andre Kuipers from Netherlands, M&C reported citing DPA. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Cyprus parliament honors Armenian genocide victims Acting House President Zacharias Koulias noted that April 24 marks the “black anniversary” of the Armenian genocide. Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed. Azerbaijan razes historic Armenian church to ground Azerbaijan has demolished the historic Armenian Church of St. John the Baptist (known as Kanach Zham). Russia to begin assessing migrant workers' speaking skills Rosobrnadzor is planning to change the Russian language exam for migrant workers and include an assessment of speaking skills |