Chinese Astronauts Set Record with Nine-Hour Spacewalk

The Shenzhou-19 crew on the Tiangong space station surpassed a 23-year-old US record during their first extravehicular mission.

Astronauts Cai Xuzhe and Song Lingdong completed a nine-hour and six-minute spacewalk, breaking the previous record of eight hours and 56 minutes set by NASA astronauts in 2001.
The spacewalk involved installing debris protection devices, inspecting external equipment, and performing maintenance tasks on the Tiangong space station.
Song Lingdong became the first Chinese astronaut born in the 1990s to conduct a spacewalk, marking a personal milestone in China’s space program.
The spacewalk was supported by crewmate Wang Haoze from inside the station, as well as by Tiangong’s robotic arm and ground control teams.
This achievement highlights China’s growing presence in space exploration, with the Tiangong space station expected to expand and play a key role in low-Earth orbit research.