A remarkable feat was achieved on December 16th, 2023, as two Chinese astronauts successfully completed a record-setting extravehicular activity (EVA) outside the Tiangong space station. Shenzhou-19 commander Cai Xuzhe, donned in a Feitian spacesuit, initiated the spacewalk at 11:51 p.m. Eastern, Dec. 16 (0451 UTC, Dec. 17).
Cai, using Tiangong’s robotic arm, retrieved necessary equipment from the airlock, with the assistance of his crewmate Song Lingdong. Song, in a suit with blue markings, joined the EVA at 1:32 a.m. Dec. 17 (0632 UTC). China Central Television (CCTV) provided live coverage of the event, showing signatures from previous users on the Feitian primary life support systems.
From inside Tiangong’s Tianhe module, crewmate Wang Haoze provided support, along with ground control. The astronauts successfully installed space debris protection devices and conducted inspections of external equipment. According to CCTV, citing a researcher from the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the protective panels safeguard cables and pipelines of the thermal control equipment outside the Tianhe module.
The EVA lasted an impressive 9 hours, 6 minutes, exceeding the previous record of 8 hours, 56 minutes set by NASA astronauts James Voss and Susan Helms during the STS-102 mission in 2001. The China National Space Administration previously stated that Feitian suits are designed for eight hours of work, with a three-year service life and 15 uses.
Both CMSEO and Xinhua declared the EVA a new record for Chinese astronauts. This was the Shenzhou-19 mission’s first spacewalk, the 17th outside Tiangong, following China's inaugural spacewalk in 2008 during the Shenzhou-7 mission. The Shenzhou-19 crew arrived at Tiangong on October 29 for a six-month stay, undertaking 86 science experiments, including life science studies involving fruit flies.