"A pair of taikonauts ventured outside China's Tiangong space station this week to take a closer look at the cracked viewport window of the Shenzhou-20 vehicle. The two worked for approximately eight hours, assisted by the station's robot arm. In addition to tasks that included the installation of a debris protection device for the orbital outpost, Wu Fei and Zhang Lu also inspected the damaged Shenzhou window."
"The Shenzhou-20 vehicle remains attached to the Tiangong space station after it was deemed unsafe for transporting its three-person crew back to Earth. A crack in the vehicle's window was spotted shortly before it was due to depart. Managers reckon that the crack was caused by a tiny piece of space debris and opted to send the Shenzhou-20 crew home in the Shenzhou-21 capsule."
"The spacewalk was also an opportunity to try out a pair of new spacesuits, which were delivered on July 15 by the Tianzhou-9 freighter. The previous generation was good for 15 extravehicular activities (EVAs) over three years. The operational lifespan of the new units has been upped to 20 EVAs over four years, according to the China Astronaut Research and Training Center."
Two taikonauts, Wu Fei and Zhang Lu, conducted an approximately eight-hour extravehicular activity using the station's robotic arm to inspect a cracked viewport on the Shenzhou-20 vehicle and install a debris protection device on Tiangong. Shenzhou-20 remains docked because the cracked window was judged to make it unsafe for crew return; managers believe a small piece of space debris caused the damage and sent the crew home in Shenzhou-21 instead. Inspection results will guide any necessary repairs before the uncrewed capsule returns to Earth. The spacewalk also tested two new spacesuits with an extended operational lifespan of 20 EVAs over four years.
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