Shenzhou XIV astronauts to conduct first spacewalk today

Chinese astronauts on the Shenzhou XIV mission are scheduled to carry out their first spacewalk later today, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

The agency said in a news release on Thursday afternoon that Shenzhou XIV crew Mission Commander Senior Colonel Chen Dong, Senior Colonel Liu Yang and Senior Colonel Cai Xuzhe have been in good health, and the Tiangong space station has been operating well. All necessary preparations have been made for the spacewalk, it noted.

The agency did not give information about the exact time of the spacewalk or who will participate in it.

Chen and his teammates have spent 88 days in orbit and have conducted a series of tasks such as arranging cargo, testing equipment and conducting scientific experiments, the release said.

The crew arrived at Tiangong on the evening of June 5, several hours after their spacecraft was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwestern Gobi Desert.

They are scheduled to stay at the station, orbiting 400 kilometers above the Earth, for six months to monitor the planned assembly of the colossal outpost.

Shenzhou XIV is the sixth spacecraft to visit Tiangong and the third crewed ship to transport astronauts to the outpost.

Currently, Tiangong consists of the Tianhe core module, the Tianzhou 4 cargo ship, the Shenzhou XIV spacecraft and the Wentian space lab, which was launched in late July.

Mission planners said the Tiangong's second lab component, Mengtian, will be lifted by a Long March 5B from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province in October.

After it is connected with the Tiangong, the station will be fashioned into a T-shaped structure.