The Chinese astronauts Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo will have their first field assignment at the space station under construction on Sunday Tiangong (Heavenly Palace) started. Chinese state television showed them leaving the station on Sunday.
During their several hours of use, equipment should be installed on the outside of the station and tests carried out, Chinese state media reported. Nothing is known about the current progress of the work. The current mission’s commander, Nie Haisheng, had remained aboard the space station.
A Chinese astronaut had already done a so-called space walk in 2008: In September 2008, Zhai Zhigang had the spacecraft Shenzhou 7 leave for less than 20 minutes.
For the current outdoor use at the space station, Chinese engineers have developed a new space suit weighing around 100 kilograms, which should be more comfortable to wear and enable longer deployment times in space. A 15 meter long robotic arm attached to the station is used to support the astronauts in their work.
The three astronauts had reached the space station two weeks ago. It is the first manned Chinese space mission in five years. During their stay in space, which is planned for three months, they will carry out work on the station, test important functions and also carry out scientific experiments.
The core module already in space Tianhe is the first part of the future space station, to which two more modules are to be connected. The station is expected to be completed by the end of 2022.