How Lyakhov and Alexandrov tackled Salyut 7’s power shortage in a spacewalk

Salyut 7 needed additional electricity because its solar cells were losing output while newer instruments and planned science modules demanded more power. The attached chronology, however, does not narrate Lyakhov and Alexandrov’s November 1 spacewalk in detail: it describes the November 3 outing as repeating the procedure used two days earlier, and says the pair’s two added arrays increased the station’s electrical capacity by 800 watts.^[1][2][3]

For preparation, the chronology reports that Leonid Kizim and Vladimir Solovyov rehearsed the installation in a neutral-buoyancy facility and served as a backup team able to advise if problems arose. This is the preparation documented in the account; it does not give a detailed rehearsal history for Lyakhov and Alexandrov themselves.^[4]

The chronology does not describe the November 1 task sequence, identify the Orlan-D suits or explain foot restraints in connection with that EVA, or record a torn suit bladder, its repair, or a camera used for ground monitoring. Orlan-D was a Russian spacesuit model, and foot restraints are devices for securing a spacewalker’s feet while working, but the supplied chronology does not establish their use on this outing. It also does not state an immediate technical result from the November 1 work; the 800-watt figure applies to the two added arrays together, not specifically to that day’s EVA.^[5][6]