The crew of China’s orbital space station has completed the first of several planned spacewalks as part of a 6-month mission.
said During the agency’s 7-hour extravehicular activity Friday, Fei Junlong and Zhang Le carried out several tasks, including installing expansion pumps outside the Mingtian Laboratory Module, China’s manned space.
According to the Associated Press, a third member of the Shenzhou-15 mission, Deng Qingming, was providing assistance from inside the station.
All three were to perform several spacewalks during their time on board.
China completed the “Tiangang” station in November, adding the third of three modules centred around the living and driving modules of the “Tianhe” core module.
China built its own after the Chinese military, the military arm of the ruling Communist Party, was excluded from the International Space Station largely over US objections to its close ties to China’s space program.
Tiangong Station weighs 66 tons; the International Space Station weighs 465 tons. It can accommodate up to 6 astronauts, but only 3 are allowed on board per mission.
Tiangong, which has a lifespan of 10 to 15 years, will one day become the only space station still standing and operating if the ISS retires at the end of this decade as expected.