Crew Members Aboard China Space Station Complete 1st Spacewalk

Crew members aboard China's orbiting space station completed their first spacewalk as part of their six-month mission.

The seven-hour extra-vehicular activity was completed at 12:16 a.m. (Beijing Time) Friday, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

Fei Junlong and Zhang Lu, who are members of the Shenzhou-15 mission, completed several tasks like installing extension pumps outside the Mengtian laboratory module during the spacewalk while fellow crew member Deng Qingming supported them from inside the Tiangong space station, according to AP News.

Fei and Zhang safely returned to the Wentian lab module following the extravehicular activity, according to China.org.cn.

The three crew members are expected to make several such spacewalks while aboard the Tiangong station, which is the second permanently inhabited space outpost after Nasa's International Space Station.

China built its own station after being excluded from the International Space Station in 2011.

"The Shenzhou 15 crew performed very well today, especially for the two operating outside the space station," said Huang Weifen, chief designer of the taikonaut system of the China Manned Space Program, according to CGTN.

"Zhang Lu had moved and covered more than 100 meters in distance. And for Fei Junlong, it's the first time spacewalking taikonaut, supported by robotic arms, has moved with large equipment while covering long distances," Huang said, adding, "It's challenging. The three have cooperated well together, and aced today's assignment. I would give a thumb up."

Zhu Guangchen, the deputy chief designer of the space station system at China Academy of Space Technology, said a complete simulation and analysis were carried out prior to the spacewalk because the tasks included having to carry large items through the gap between the solar panels and the modules.

"All works in normal condition now with all assigned tasks completed according to plan," Zhu said.

The three crew members had taken off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in north-west China in November to take over the Tiangong space station. They showed close cooperation throughout the extra-vehicular activity, Huang said.

"In the whole process, the procedures were correctly executed and operations well performed, showing strong operational and cooperative abilities," Huang added.