Sidebar

Exclusive Reports

28
Thu, Mar

Chinese Astronauts Conduct First Spacewalk Outside China’s Space Station

Middle East & Asia News
Typography
  • Smaller Small Medium Big Bigger
  • Default Helvetica Segoe Georgia Times

Chinese astronauts have successfully carried out the country's first spacewalk outside the new Tiangong space station in what is seen as a significant milestone in its rapidly expanding space program. Before the spacewalk, China has previously landed a rover on Mars and sent probes to the moon. China sent the first crew of Tiangong space station last month. The crew includes Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming, and Tang Hongbo who will remain for three months in China’s longest crewed mission to date.

On Sunday morning, state television showed footage of the astronauts’ daily lives on Tiangong, including setting up an exercise bike and working out on a treadmill. One crew member was shown eating with chopsticks; another did a handstand and somersault after mealtime. After a while, two of them left the station for about seven hours of work in the first spacewalk at Tiangong.

During the spacewalk, they tested new-generation spacesuits, installed equipment, elevated a panoramic camera and tested the station's robotic arm which will be used to transfer future modules around the station, state media said. The astronauts installed foot stops on the robotic arm and, with its support, carried out other assembly work, the space agency added.

This was the first of two spacewalks planned for the mission, both expected to last six or seven hours. It was the first time since 2008 that Chinese astronauts have gone outside their spacecraft. Back then, Zhai Zhigang made China the third country to complete a spacewalk after the Soviet Union and the US.

As part of its plans to have a fully crewed space station by December 2022, China launched the first core module, known as Tianhe or Harmony of the Heavens, on April 29. The module is the largest spacecraft developed by China to date, with a total length of 16.6 meters (55 feet) and a living space of 50 cubic meters (1,765 cubic feet), according to China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).

China has previously operated two space labs in orbit, the Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2, both of which were trials for the larger space station the country is now building. 

Chinese astronauts have long been excluded from the international space station (ISS), due to US political objections and legislative restrictions. Russia, a longtime contributor on the ISS, has also left the project and is now considering launching its own space station by 2030.

The ISS is due for retirement after 2024, although Nasa has said it could remain functional beyond 2028. Tiangong is expected to have a lifespan of at least 10 years, and China has said it would be open to international collaboration on the station.

BLOG COMMENTS POWERED BY DISQUS