The crew of China's orbital space station has completed the first of several planned spacewalks as part of a 6-month mission. During a 7-hour extravehicular activity on Friday, Fei Junlong and Zhang Le carried out a number of tasks, including installing expansion pumps outside the Mingtian Laboratory module, the China Manned Space Agency said.
The third member of the Shenzhou-15 mission, Deng Qingming, was providing assistance from inside the station, according to the Associated Press. The three are scheduled to take several spacewalks during their time on board. China completed the "Tiangong" station in November, adding a third of 3 units centered around the living and driving unit in the "Tianhe" core unit.
China built its own after being excluded from the International Space Station, largely over US objections to the close ties of China's space programs to the Chinese military, the military wing of the ruling Communist Party.
The Tiangong station weighs about 66 tons, while the International Space Station weighs 465 tons. It can accommodate up to 6 astronauts, although only 3 will be on board for each mission. Tiangong, which has a lifespan of 10 to 15 years, could one day be the only space station still standing and operating if the ISS retires at the end of this decade as expected.
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