China’s house programme achieved a milestone on Tuesday as two astronauts aboard the Tiangong house station set a brand new world report for the longest spacewalk, as reported by the South China Morning Post.
The nine-hour extravehicular exercise (EVA) by Shenzhou-19 crew members Cai Xuzhe and Song Lingdong surpassed a 22-year-old report held by the US.
Cai and Song spent 9 hours exterior Tiangong, a feat praised as a “full success” by the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
The two astronauts stepped out of the Wentian lab module, secured by security cables. They have been supported by crewmate Wang Haozhe, who remained contained in the station. Tiangong’s robotic arms and floor management groups additionally contributed to the mission’s success.
Song Lingdong made historical past with this spacewalk, changing into the primary Chinese astronaut born within the Nineteen Nineties to finish an EVA. Mission commander Cai Xuzhe additionally drew on his expertise, having beforehand accomplished a 5.5-hour spacewalk in the course of the Shenzhou-14 mission in November 2022.
The earlier report was established on March 11, 2001, when American astronauts James Voss and Susan Helms spent eight hours and 56 minutes exterior the house shuttle Discovery throughout a mission to the International Space Station.
Earlier this 12 months, Shenzhou-18 astronauts Ye Guangfu and Li Guangsu set China’s earlier EVA report by spending eight hours and 23 minutes exterior Tiangong. The second-generation “Feitian” spacesuits they wore can assist as much as eight hours of exercise. This is a significant enchancment over the first-generation fits, which have been utilized in China’s first spacewalk in 2008. Back then, the spacewalk lasted simply 20 minutes.
The Shenzhou-19 crew has a busy schedule forward, with extra EVAs, experiments, and assessments. They arrived on the Tiangong house station in late October and are set to return to Earth in April or May 2025, touchdown in Inner Mongolia.
