Yesterday’s schedule on the International Space Station (ISS) involved a spacewalk by the two Russian astronauts, with the mission to remove a live explosive bolt which is found on the Soyuz capsule’s re-entry apparatus and transport it back to the station.

The reason why this decision was taken is that there have been several concerns raised by the descents of the last two Soyuz capsules, which subjected their passengers to a series of G forces higher than normal and the procedure will allow NASA’s engineers to identify and fix the problem much sooner.

The mechanics of the descent work like this: once a Soyuz starts its route back to Earth, the bolts open up and separate the modules, guiding the capsule on its customary re-entry path, which is stabilized by the capsule’s aerodynamics.

Several safety measures have been taken in order to make sure that the explosive charge will not be triggered during the removal, as it might have been fatal for the station’s commander, astronaut Sergey Volkov. Once detached, the device was placed in a steel case, which can minimize the effects in the event of an unlikely accidental explosion, just as Michael T. Suffredini, the head of the space station program, explained during a briefing on the mission on Tuesday.

According to the agency’s estimates, the explosive force of the bolt is close to the impact of a M-80 firecracker, being able to cause significant damage.

The repair session was extremely important, as it will ensure the Russian crew’s safe return to Earth in October, once their mission will be over.