A Chinese astronaut has completed his nation's first ever
foray into space beyond the confines of a spacecraft.
Zhai Zhigang, the lead Chinese astronaut, or taikonaut, of
the Shenzhou 7 mission, spent about 20 minutes floating outside his vehicle.
During the spacewalk, which began at about 4:40 a.m. ET (0840 GMT) and ended at
4:58 (0858 GMT), he retrieved a small sample of solid lubricant from the
outside of the
spacecraft that had been placed there before launch. The excursion was broadcast live.
Zhai, along with crewmates Liu Boming and Jing Haipeng, launched
into space Thursday aboard a Long March 2F rocket from Jiuquan Satellite
Launch Center in China's Gansu province. The mission is China's third
manned spaceflight.
Spacewalk activities
To begin the spacewalk, Zhai exited from the hatch in the
de-pressurized orbital module.
"I have been out of the hatch, I'm feeling good," Zhai said
immediately after stepping out, according to the CCTV official Chinese
television announcer's translation. "To all the people in my country and the
world, my greetings. My country, please have faith in me. My team will finish
this mission."
He proudly waved the red flag of the People's Republic of
China in space to mark the achievement.
Liu assisted from inside the orbital module, clad in a
Russian-made Orlan spacesuit and occasionally peeking his head out of the hatch
to hand Zhai materials. Jing spent the duration in the pressurized re-entry
module, which is due to eventually carry the
taikonauts home.
In short order, Zhai had retrieved the test sample from the
spacecraft's hull and passed it back inside to Liu. After about 20 minutes he
stepped back inside the spacecraft feet first, and the two taikonauts closed
the hatch.
Landmark achievement
Successfully completing a spacewalk solidifies China's
status as a space power, and helps the nation move toward its goal
of establishing a more permanent presence in space.
"We're probably looking at an effort to do a manned
docking [in the future] and eventually a spacelab," said Dean Cheng, China
analyst with Alexandria, Va.-based think tank CNA Corp. "This is part of
the progression toward that end. And if the Chinese really are intending to put
a man on the moon, then this becomes even more essential."
In addition to proving China's ability to maneuver in space,
the spacewalk showed that China can produce reliable and safe space equipment.
During his space venture, Zhai wore a new Chinese-built spacesuit, dubbed Feitian
(Chinese for "fly the sky").
The suit, which reportedly cost 30 million yuan (about $4.4
million), did its job protecting Zhai from the harsh temperatures and radiation
of space. It has 10 layers of insulation, weighs about 265 pounds (120 kg), and
takes up to 15 hours to assemble and put on, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua
reported.
Another important feature of the spacewalk was the fact that
it was broadcast live, which represents not only China's technological prowess,
but its growing confidence and increasing efforts at transparency.
"They are opening up," Cheng told SPACE.com. "Perhaps
one of the lessons from the Olympics is that good things come from being open."
The Shenzhou 7 mission is scheduled to come back to Earth
Sunday.
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