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Nora Mankel

China’s astronauts had to improvise a repair to the Tiangong space station without specialised tools during their record-breaking nine-hour space walk at the end of last year, according to the mission’s commander.
In an interview with state broadcaster CCTV aired on Sunday, Shenzhou-19 mission commander Cai Xuzhe said a payload adaptor unexpectedly jammed during a cargo installation outside the spacecraft and the team had to add the repair to their spacewalk tasks.
Cai said it was something they had not trained for and he was worried about doing irreparable damage.
“I feared that my intervention might make the damage worse,” he said.
The adaptor is a docking mechanism used for various tasks, such as extravehicular (EVA) experiments or the replacement and maintenance of spacecraft or platform components.


Normally, a robotic arm can unlock the two locks on the adaptor, but the automatic process failed and left one half of the adaptor still attached to the spacecraft. It needed to be fixed manually.
Cai said that because of limited time and the unplanned nature of the task, they did not have specialised equipment at hand.
They also had not rehearsed for such a situation. Astronauts usually plan and train for extravehicular activities when preparing for their missions, given the dangerous nature of the exercises.
So the ground team first simulated the repair on Earth and worked with the crew to see if it could be done in space.
“On the ground, it might look better and be easier to handle, but space is more complicated than the ground. Before the spacewalk, I was still a bit concerned,” Cai said.
Another challenge was time. During the first seven hours of the EVA, Cai and crew members Song Lingdong completed planned tasks such as installing a space debris protection system. Discarded objects in space can collide with each other, which is an important reason to protect space stations against any damage.
They had only about 40 remaining minutes of sunlight – necessary for unobscured vision – to carry out the repair, putting them on a tight schedule, Cai told CCTV.
As time passed, the astronauts had to carefully monitor their oxygen levels. China’s second-generation Feitian EV spacesuits have two oxygen cylinders to ensure astronauts have enough oxygen to return inside safely.
Cai said that despite the length of their spacewalk – the longest in the history of space flight – they did not have to activate the backup oxygen cylinder. The task was successfully completed.
“I believe it demonstrates the reliability of our spacesuits, as well as our ability to work for nine hours without issues,” Cai said. “Additionally, it proves the maturity and confidence of our manned space flight technology.”
The crew’s tasks during the mission included a number of space science experiments, cargo delivery and extravehicular activities, many of which were the first of their kind, according to official sources.
China’s manned space programme was established in 1993. A decade later, it launched its first manned space flight, and in 2008 its astronauts successfully completed their first EVA. The goal is the country’s first crewed lunar landing by 2030.
In March, the China Manned Space Agency announced that preparations for the moon landing were fully under way, including the development of a spacesuit specifically designed for the unique challenges of the lunar environment.
Additional reporting by Edith Mao and Carl Zhang


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Commander Cai Xuzhe recounts an unrehearsed effort to fix problem with space station hardware


Commander Cai Xuzhe recounts an unrehearsed effort to fix problem with space station hardware.


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China’s Shenzhou-19 astronauts reveal record spacewalk featured surprise repair

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Commander Cai Xuzhe recounts an unrehearsed effort to fix problem with space station hardware

Commander Cai Xuzhe recounts an unrehearsed effort to fix problem with space station hardware