{"id":11506,"date":"2021-08-21T19:26:36","date_gmt":"2021-08-21T11:26:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/chinese-astronauts-complete-second-spacewalk-outside-space-station\/"},"modified":"2021-08-21T19:26:36","modified_gmt":"2021-08-21T11:26:36","slug":"chinese-astronauts-complete-second-spacewalk-outside-space-station","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/chinese-astronauts-complete-second-spacewalk-outside-space-station\/","title":{"rendered":"Chinese astronauts complete second spacewalk outside space station"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Chinese astronauts Nie Haisheng and Liu Boming wave to a video camera while outside the Tianhe core module of China\u2019s space station Friday. Credit: Xinhua<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Chinese astronauts Nie Haisheng and Liu Boming accomplished a nearly six-hour spacewalk Friday outside the core module of the country\u2019s new space station, installing a coolant pump and lifting a panoramic camera on the exterior of the complex.<\/p>\n

Nie and Liu exited the airlock of the Tianhe core module at 8:38 p.m. EDT Thursday (0038 GMT Friday), according to the China Manned Space Agency.<\/p>\n

The two astronauts completed their planned tasks supporting the assembly of the Tiangong space station, Chinese officials said.<\/p>\n

One of the highlights of the spacewalk was the the installation of a backup \u201cextended pump set\u201d to help flow liquid coolant through a thermal control system loop regulating temperatures inside the space station. The coolant dissipates heat generated by equipment inside the outpost, and helps ensure steady and comfortable temperatures throughout the station.<\/p>\n

Nie and Liu accomplished four steps to complete mechanical and fluid connections with the new pump, the China Manned Space Agency said.<\/p>\n

During their spacewalk, the astronauts moved around the exterior of the Tianhe module with the aid of a robotic arm.<\/p>\n

The astronauts also raised a panoramic camera outside the station re-entering the Tianhe module at 2:33 a.m. EDT (0633 GMT), completing a 5-hour, 55-minute spacewalk.<\/p>\n

Tang Hongbo, the third space station crew member, assisted the spacewalker from inside the Tianhe core module.<\/p>\n

The astronauts wore Chinese-made Feitian spacesuits for the spacewalk, which followed a nearly seven-hour excursion July 4 by Liu and Tang. During that spacewalk \u2014 the first conducted from the new Chinese space station \u2014 astronauts installed foot restraints, a work platform, and a camera outside the Tianhe module.<\/p>\n

The spacewalk completed Friday was the third in the history of China\u2019s space program.<\/p>\n

China\u2019s first spacewalk was accomplished on the Shenzhou 7 mission in 2008. On that flight, Liu and crewmate Zhai Zhigang briefly exited the hatch to the Shenzhou 7 spacecraft and waived a Chinese flag for a television audience.<\/p>\n

The three-man station crew launched June 16 on China\u2019s Shenzhou 12 spacecraft, beginning a planned three-month expedition. The astronauts are the first residents aboard China\u2019s space station.<\/p>\n

Assembly of the Tiangong station began in April with the launch of the Tianhe core module on a heavy-lift Long March 5B rocket. China launched a Tianzhou cargo ship to dock with the Tianhe module in May, followed by the arrival of the first Shenzhou crew ship in June.<\/p>\n

The Shenzhou 12 astronauts are in the home stretch of their mission. Before returning to Earth in mid-September, the crew will perform circumnavigation and radial rendezvous test with their crew capsule, CMSA said.<\/p>\n

A new Tianzhou supply freighter is scheduled to launch to the space station on a Long March 7 rocket in September, followed by the launch and docking of the next space station crew on the Shenzhou 13 spacecraft in October.<\/p>\n

Email the author.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chinese astronauts Nie Haisheng and Liu Boming wave to a video camera while outside the Tianhe core module of China\u2019s space station Friday. Credit: Xinhua Chinese astronauts Nie Haisheng and Liu Boming accomplished a nearly six-hour spacewalk Friday outside the core module of the country\u2019s new space station, installing a coolant pump and lifting a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11506"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11506"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11506\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}