The backup crew of ISS-76 has begun training on one of the station's most complex tools — the ERA robotic arm. At the helm are Oleg Kononenko, head of the Cosmonaut Training Center, and cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin.
The main emphasis is on manual control, where mistakes are not forgiven. Cosmonauts learn not only to perform standard operations, but also to cope with emergency situations directly "manually."
Training takes place on a special "Don-ERA" simulator, which simulates the real working conditions outside the station. The crew practices the full cycle of tasks: from issuing commands from a laptop to precisely controlling the manipulator's movements via video stream from the ISS's external cameras.
The ERA itself is a "robotic arm" on the surface of the "Nauka" module. It is capable of moving around the station, using two grips, and performing a whole range of tasks: from inspecting the hull to working with equipment and supporting cosmonauts' spacewalks.
The manipulator can work automatically, but it is the manual mode that is considered the most difficult — and the most critical in non-standard situations. It is this mode that the crew is now "pumping up."
