Two Chinese tycoons aboard its Tiangong space station have launched the first of two spacewalks planned for a three-month crew mission in orbit to keep the space station up and running. As soon as the Tiangong space station embarked on the journey, Tychonauts (Chinese name for astronauts) Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo assisted Commander Nii Haisheng from inside the Tianhe module on July 4th. Two astronauts were working on the exterior of the space station during the seven-hour Extraterrestrial Activity (EVA) work.
In a video of Liu leaving the cabin, he said: “Wow, it’s so beautiful here,” AFP reported. Liu and Tang have completed installing foot restraints and outdoor work platforms on the 5-meter-long (50-foot) robotic arm of the station. They finished lifting the panoramic camera outside the Tinahe Core and installing other tools and equipment.
Currently, Tiang (meaning Heavenly Palace) consists of the original Tianh (River of Heaven, a nickname for the Milky Way) original module, but when completed, it will be one-fifth of the mass of the International Space Station (ISS) and 340 and 450 kilometers (210 and 280 miles) will orbit at an equal height. ISST is placed in low-Earth orbit for about 420 kilometers (260 miles). The Chinese space station will see a lot of growth next year, with 11 launches planned, including two lab experiment modules, will orbit at an equal height. ISST is placed in low-Earth orbit for about 420 kilometers (260 miles). The Chinese space station will see a lot of growth next year, with 11 launches planned, including two lab experiment modules.
The first is Ventian (meaning Quest for Heaven), which is expected to launch in May-June 2022, about three months after Mengtian (meaning dreaming of heaven). A separate telescopic module will also be launched over the next few years. This is China’s first crew mission in about five years. The taikonauts are expected to return to Earth in September, with the next crew flying there in October and the following crews launching in late spring and late 2022.
