Chinese Astronauts Complete 1st Spacewalk In Space Station, What About Gaganyaan?

Chinese astronauts have successfully performed the first-ever tandem spacewalk -- a first for the nation¡¯s space agency, working seven hours outside the newly installed Tiangong station in orbit around our planet, according to a report by AFP.

Xinhua

Also Read: China¡¯s Astronauts Create History: Successfully Dock In Tiangong Space Station

The spacewalk was conducted on Sunday when two astronauts-- Liu and Tang -- left the space station. Both were wearing the newly developed space suits that weigh a good 130 kilograms (not that they weigh anything in zero gravity).

The team members were helped by mission commander Nie Haisheng from inside the space station -- a decorated Chinese air force pilot who is on his third space mission.

Their tasks involved elevating the panoramic camera that was installed outside the Tianhe core module as well as testing the station¡¯s robotic arm that will come in handy (get it?) for transferring future modules around the station.

The crew also installed foot stops on the robotic arm and using it as support, carried out other assembly work. This was the first of the two planned spacewalks for the mission and both of these are expected to last six to seven hours.

This spacewalk was special for various reasons. One of the big ones being that this was the first time since 2008 that Chinese astronauts stepped out of their space stations. The last Chinese astronaut to step out was Zhai Zhigang, making China the third nation to complete a spacewalk after Russia and the US.

Xinhua

Also Read: China's Defunct Space Station Will Crash Into Earth On March 31, But We Still Don't Know Where

The crew had headed to space last month, becoming the first crew for the space station. They¡¯re currently scheduled to stay there for three more months and is regarded as the longest Chinese crewed mission to date.

The Chinese space agency has planned a total of 11 launches through to the end of next year, including three more crewed missions. They will also be delivering two lab modules to further enlarge the space station, along with supplies and astronauts.

India¡¯s Gaganyaan Mission

ISRO is working tirelessly to send the nation's first indigenously developed manned mission into space -- Gaganyaan. Reports by PTI have revealed that due to the delays caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic, ISRO is behind its target and has been putting in extra hours as well as extra work.

ISRO officials have revealed that many vendors that supplied hardware for the programme were closed due to the lockdowns and hence some delay is expected. They¡¯re also in talks with French, Russian and US space agencies for some crucial activities and supply of components.

Reuters

Also Read: After Gaganyaan, ISRO Will Make India Proud With 1st Ever Space Station Launch By 2022

"That way, we are not going to lose much time. But mainly because of closure industries in India, it¡¯s having an impact on the realisation of hardware. But still, we are trying to achieve the target for the mission set by the Government of India," ISRO Chairman K. Sivan said earlier this month.

The unmanned launch for ISRO Gaganyaan mission was expected to occur by the end of 2021, followed by a manned mission in 2022, in the nation¡¯s 75th year of independence. ¡°It may be too early for me to commit. But we are trying to target the mission by that time,¡± Sivan added.