China space station crew completes spacewalk

BEIJING: The crew of China’s orbiting space station has completed the first of several planned spacewalks of their six-month mission, pushing such activities into the realm of routine for the country’s astronauts.

The China Manned Space Agency said that, during Friday’s seven-hour extra-vehicular activity, Fei Junlong and Zhang Lu carried out a number of tasks, including installing extension pumps outside the Mengtian laboratory module.

The third member of the Shenzhou-15 mission, Deng Qingming, assisted from inside the station. The three are scheduled to carry out several other spacewalks during their time on board.

China completed the Tiangong station in November with the addition of the third of three modules, centered on the Tianhe living and command module.

China built its own station after it was excluded from the International Space Station, largely due to US objections over the Chinese space programs’ intimate ties to the People’s Liberation Army, the military wing of the ruling Communist Party.