China’s Shenzhou-15 crew completes fourth spacewalk

China’s space crew completed a record spacewalk at the weekend. Picture: CGTN

China’s space crew completed a record spacewalk at the weekend. Picture: CGTN

Published Apr 17, 2023

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China's Shenzhou-15 mission crew members conducted their fourth extravehicular activity (EVA) on Saturday, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

Fei Junlong and Zhang Lu, together with Deng Qingming who worked inside the space station to support his crewmates, collaborated to pull off all set tasks. Fei and Zhang have since safely returned to the Wentian lab module.

The Shenzhou-15 crew set a new spacewalk record among Chinese astronaut crews.

During the spacewalk, the three astronauts completed several tasks, including the extension pumps installation and the cross-cabin cable installation and connection, in preparation for future science experiments in space.

In addition, a Long March-7A rocket was transported to the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China's Hainan Province on April 13.

The rocket will undergo assembly and testing with the Tianzhou-6 cargo spacecraft, aiming for a launch in May, the space agency said earlier.

The launch of the Tianzhou-6 will be the first mission after China's manned space programme entered a phase of application and development.

China has completed 11 spacewalks in the last four manned missions since the Shenzhou-12 mission in 2021.

* This article was originally published by CGTN.