Two astronauts aboard China’s Tiangong space station have set a new benchmark for the longest spacewalk in history, surpassing a 20-year-old U.S. record.
On Tuesday, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) confirmed that astronauts Cai Xuzhe and Song Lingdong, crew members of the Shenzhou 19 mission, completed an impressive nine-hour extravehicular activity (EVA) and returned to the spacecraft at 9:57 PM local time.
According to CMSA officials, during the spacewalk, the two astronauts carried out essential maintenance on the exterior of the T-shaped space station, including installing space debris protection devices.
This achievement broke the previous record of 8 hours and 56 minutes, NASA astronauts James Voss and Susan Helms set during a spacewalk outside the Space Shuttle Discovery on March 11, 2001.
People’s Daily, Chinese state media, celebrated this accomplishment, calling it a major milestone in China’s expanding space exploration capabilities.
Earlier this year, taikonauts Ye Guangfu and Li Guangsu spent 8 hours and 23 minutes conducting a spacewalk outside Tiangong during the Shenzhou 18 mission, further highlighting China’s growing proficiency in spacewalking.
In May, CCTV reported that the second-generation Feitian spacesuits worn by taikonauts can support of external work—twice the duration of the previous generation.
China’s history with spacewalking began in 2008 when astronaut Zhai Zhigang made the country’s first EVA, spending around 20 minutes outside the Shenzhou 7 spacecraft while wearing the first-generation Feitian spacesuit.