Chinese astronauts Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo made the first spacewalk outside the space station.
Chinese astronauts doing spacewalk (Twitter)
Two astronauts from China did a space walk outside the new Chinese Space Station on Sunday. These two Chinese astronauts went to open space for the first time to install a 15 meter long robotic arm outside the station. China’s state-run TV footage showed Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo exiting the airlock, while the third crew member, Commander Nie Haisheng, remained in the station. During this time the earth could be seen under the space station.
The three Chinese astronauts arrived at China’s Third Orbital Station on June 17 for a three-month mission. This mission is part of China’s ambitious space program, which has also included the landing of a robotic rover on Mars in May. This mission has been started at a time when the ruling Communist Party of China has celebrated the 100th anniversary of its founding. China has shown its ambitions regarding space to the world in recent times. It is also rapidly trying to gain an edge in the field of space.
What will be the work of this robotic arm?
Tianhe, the first module of the Chinese space station, was launched on 29 April. After this an automated spacecraft was launched with food and fuel. Then on June 17, all three Chinese astronauts were sent to space via Shenzhou-12 capsule. On Sunday, Liu and Tang installed the robotic arm. Government media told that with the help of this arm the rest of the station will be prepared. It said that the space suits of astronauts have been designed in such a way that they can work in empty space for up to six hours if needed.
China will send 11 missions to space
Earlier, Yang Liwei, director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office, had said that the astronauts would remain in space for three months during which they would perform repairs and maintenance tasks. China plans to send 11 missions to space this year and next year before the space station is ready. China’s space station is likely to be a competitor to the International Space Station (ISS), a modular space station in low Earth orbit. The ISS is a project of NASA (USA), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe) and CSA (Canada). China’s Tiangong may be the only space station after the ISS’s operational period ends.
Also read: Philippines: Military plane carrying 92 soldiers crashes, 17 killed, 15 people pulled out safely from the rubble
.
