Shenzhou-19 Crew Perform Worlds Longest Spacewalk! [SZ-19 EVA-1]

Taikonauts Cai Xuzhe and Song Lingdong have broken the world record for the longest spacewalk!

Song Lingdong emerging from the Wentian module while Cai Xuzhe is attached to Tiangong’s robotic arm.

Cai Xuzhe and Song Lingdong performed the first spacewalk of the Shenzhou-19 mission on December 17th, exiting the Tiangong Space Station via the Wentian modules airlock. For the spacewalk, Cai donned the red suit and Song wore the blue suit.

Shenzhou-19’s first spacewalk lasted from 12:51 pm to 21:57 pm China Standard Time (or 04:51 am to 13:57 pm Universal Coordinated Time), for a total duration of nine hours and six minutes. Due to the duration, eleven sunrises and sunsets were experienced along with two passes through the South Atlantic Anomaly. Today’s spacewalk broke the existing record by ten minutes, having been set by James Voss and Susan Helms in March 2001 for the STS-102 mission.

With the record-breaking length of the spacewalk, it has been rumored that the China Manned Space Agency was recording how well its taikonauts perform during extended stays outside the safety of a spacecraft. This information may inform changes needed for longer extravehicular activities on the lunar surface or outside Tiangong using a newer spacesuit.

During their spacewalk, Cai and Song installed protective materials to mitigate the impacts of space debris on the station. General maintenance and inspections of external hardware was also conducted. Tiangong’s robotic arm was used to assist the two taikonauts, with Cai hitching a ride on it to reach more external areas.

Wang Hoaze inside the Tiangong Space Station supporting Shenzhou-19’s first spacewalk.

This was Song Lingdong's first spacewalk, and Cai Xuzhe's third time exiting the station, having done so twice for the Shenzhou-14 mission. Additionally, Song is the first taikonaut to do a spacewalk who was born after 1990. While Cai and Song were outside the station, Wang Haoze was providing support to the duo from inside.

The Shenzhou-19 crew has been onboard Tiangong since late October and is not set to return until late April or Early May. As such, additional spacewalks are expected to be performed during the remaining four months of their mission, the previous Shenzhou-18 mission performed two spacewalks for station maintenance.

Spacewalk video via CNSpaceflight on Twitter and 北京蓝龙 on Weibo.

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Meet the Shenzhou-19 crew

Cai Xuzhe (left), Wang Haoze (center), and Song Lingdong (right).

Cai Xuzhe (蔡旭哲)

The commander of the Shenzhou-19 mission is Cai Xuzhe, making his second trip to the space station. Cai Xuzhe's first flight was for the sixth-month Shenzhou-14 mission, lasting from June to December of 2022, this mission saw the Wentian and Mengtian modules dock as well as having the first crew handover, when the Shenzhou-15 crew arrived.

Cai is from Shenzhou (深州市), in Hebei province (河北), and has served in the People's Liberation Army Air Force. In 2010 he was selected as part of the second group of taikonauts. After the Shenzhou-14 mission, Cai was awarded the honorary title of "Heroic Astronaut" in March 2023.

Wang Haoze (王浩泽)

The science operator for the Shenzhou-19 mission is Wang Haoze, making her first trip to space. Wang Haoze is part of the third group of Taikonauts and was selected in 2020.

Wang is from Chengde (承德市), in Hebei province (河北), and was previously a senior engineer at the Academy of Aerospace Propulsion Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. During her time working as a propulsion engineer, she notably co-authored a paper about nuclear thermal rocket engines.

Song Lingdong (宋令东)

The operator for the Shenzhou-19 mission is Song Lingdong, making his first trip to space. Like his crewmate, Song Lingdong is part of the third group of Taikonauts and was selected in 2020.

Song is from Caoxian county (曹县), in Shandong Province (山东), and has served in the People's Liberation Army Air Force. Having joined the PLAAF in 2008, Song went on to earn the rank of Lieutenant Colonel along with flying Sukhoi Su-27 and Su-35 aircraft for international joint exercises.

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