Chinese astronauts beef up Tiangong space station’s debris shield during 6.5-hour spacewalk (video)

Chinese astronauts added more debris shielding to the Tiangong space station during a 6.5-hour spacewalk on Friday (Aug. 15), according to state media.

Two astronauts from the three-person Shenzhou 20 mission ventured outside Tiangong to do the spacewalk, which concluded Friday at 9:27 a.m. EDT (1447 UTC, or 10:47 p.m. in Beijing). It was at least the second effort for the crew to put “debris protection” devices on the three-module space station, following similar work on May 22.

Taikonauts Chen Dong and Wang Jie also inspected and maintained equipment on the exterior of Tiangong, among other duties, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said, according to the state-run broadcaster CCTV.

It was Dong’s sixth spacewalk — the most by any Chinese astronaut, CMSA officials said. Assisting the duo from inside Tiangong was Chen Zhongrui, the other member of Shenzhou 20.

The Shenzhou 20 astronauts are more than halfway through their expected six-month orbital stay, after launching from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on April 24. They’ve been doing experiments in life sciences, microgravity physics, space material science, space medicine and aerospace tech, according to CMSA.

“The space station is operating stably, and the three crew members are in good health,” CMSA added in a separate statement ahead of the spacewalk. Friday’s extravehicular activity was the third for the crew. Shenzhou 20 has also witnessed the departure of one cargo spacecraft (Tianzhou 8) and the arrival of another (Tianzhou 9).

Shenzhou 20 is the ninth crewed mission to visit Tiangong, which is about 20% as massive as the International Space Station and shaped like a T. China completed assembly of the outpost in October 2022, but is considering putting on more modules in future missions.

Dong, the commander, is on his third spaceflight, while Zhongrui and Jie are rookies.