China’s 1st woman to spacewalk works 6 hours outside the station

As part of a six-month expedition to China’s space station, Wang Yaping became China’s 1st woman to do a spacewalk.

According to the China Manned Space Agency, Wang and fellow astronaut Zhai Zhigang departed the station’s main module on Sunday evening. Hence, spending more than six hours outside installing equipment and conducting testing alongside the station’s robotic service arm.

CMS stated on its website that the third member of the crew, Ye Guangfu, aided from inside the station.

Wang, 41, and Zhai, 55, had both visited China’s now-decommissioned experimental space stations. Zhai was the first Chinese astronaut to walk in space 13 years ago. Wang Yaping is China’s 1st woman to spacewalk.

The three are the second crew to join the permanent station, and their mission, which began on Oct. 16, is likely to be the longest in space for Chinese astronauts yet.

The station’s Tianhe module will connect to two more sections, Mengtian and Wentian, next year. The finished station will weigh roughly 66 tons, much smaller than the International Space Station. It launched its first module in 1998 which weighs around 450 tons.

The crew will conduct three spacewalks to install equipment in preparation for the station’s expansion, as well as evaluate living conditions in the Tianhe module, and conduct studies in space medicine and other subjects.

Over the following two years, China’s military-run space program wants to send additional personnel to the station to completely operationalize it.

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