Shenzhou 7 mission details

[W.G.Ewald]

Shenzhou 7 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

China's first spacewalk

On 27 September, Zhai Zhigang, wearing a Chinese-developed Feitian space suit, conducted a 22-minute space walk, the first ever for a Chinese astronaut.[10][11] Zhai slipped out of the orbital module in a head-first position at around 16:43 (0843 GMT) and wandered around the orbital module, retrieved experiment samples and waved the Chinese flag in space. The spacewalk lasted about 20 minutes, with Zhai returning to the orbital module at 17:00.[12] The first space walk was limited in scope: cables were used to tie Zhai to the handrail outside the orbital module, and his moving route was restricted to areas near the exits. Liu Boming, wearing a Russian Orlan-M suit, stayed in the airlock in the orbital module to provide help if necessary. Liu also conducted an EVA, standing up at 08:58 UTC to hand Zhai a flag.[10] The third astronaut, Jing Haipeng remained in the re-entry module to monitor the general situation of the spacecraft.[13] By 09:00 UTC both astronauts were back inside and the hatch was closed.[10] The space walk was broadcast live on Chinese media, and two cameras provided panoramic images.[14]

The Feitian spacesuit is similar to the Orlan-M (known as Haiying, æµ·é¹°, in Chinese) in shape and volume and are designed for spacewalks of up to seven hours,[15] providing oxygen and allowing for the excretion of bodily waste.[15] According to Chinese media reports, spacesuit materials with such features as fire and radiation resistance were developed by several civilian corporations and national institutes.[16][17] Each suit was reported to have cost 30 million RMB (about 4.4 million USD).[18][19] Except for the gloves of the Feitian suit, the space suits were not brought back to earth.[20][21]

A fire alarm was reported to the control center at the beginning of the EVA, but it was confirmed to be a false alarm.[22][23]

Passing close to the International Space Station

According to the United States Strategic Command, at 15:07 Greenwich Mean Time on 27 September 2008, the Shenzhou 7 ship passed within 45 kilometers of the International Space Station. China did not respond to queries about why it allowed its ship to pass so close to the space station. Richard Fisher, a senior fellow at the International Assessment and Strategy Center, in an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal noted that the Shenzhou 7 had launched its companion satellite BX-1 four hours earlier. The IASC is a "think-tank" focused on medium and long-term security issues and their impact on the security of the United States and her key allies. He noted "China's track record of using all of its Shenzhou missions since 1999 for dual military-civil missions," and speculated that China may have used the opportunity to pass near the space station to test "co-orbital" antisatellite interception technology.[35]

 

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