Watch: Astronauts Achieve China’s First-Ever Tandem Walk In Space
Image via Axel Monse / Shutterstock.com
On July 3, this last Saturday, astronauts Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo left the safety of the Tiangong station to carry out seven hours’ worth of work on the exterior of the Tianhe core module, supported from inside by mission commander Nie Haisheng. This was the first extravehicular activity (EVA) on the station, and marked the first time since 2008 that Chinese astronauts had left their spacecraft and stepped out into zero-gravity.
Their tasks included working on and testing the module’s robotic arm, which will be used in the future to transfer modules around the main station. They also elevated a panoramic camera, among other assembly works. This tandem spacewalk—China’s very first—was one of a scheduled two, both aiming to take around six or seven hours.
“The safe return of astronauts Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo to the Tianhe core module marks the complete success of the first spacewalk in our country’s space station construction,” said China's Manned Space Agency.
The new Tiangong station, which currently orbits Earth, is part of China’s space program, in which it has landed a rover on Mars and collected samples from the surface of the Moon. The space agency is currently planning 11 more launches in total to take place by the end of next year, three of which will be crewed. These aim to expand the station, so the missions will involve delivering two new lab modules and more supplies.
[via Engadget, image via Axel Monse / Shutterstock.com]
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