BEIJING : Two astronauts on Sunday made the first spacewalk outside China's new orbital station to set up cameras and other equipment using a 15-metre-long (50-foot-long) robotic arm. Liu and Tang spent nearly seven hours outside the station, the Chinese space agency said. The astronauts arrived June 17 for a three-month mission aboard China's third orbital station, part of an ambitious space program that landed a robot rover on Mars in May. China's space agency plans a total of 11 launches through the end of next year to add two more modules to the 70-ton station. Liu is a veteran of the Shenzhou 7 mission in 2008, during which Zhai Zhigang made China's first space walk.

Source: Mint July 04, 2021 11:48 UTC