Shenzhou-23 Astronauts Complete 5.5-Hour Spacewalk to Repair Tiangong Solar Panels

The Shenzhou-23 crew completed a spacewalk of about 5.5 hours on August 28, with astronauts Zhu Yangzhu and Zhang Zhiyuan repairing the Tiangong space station's solar panels and installing space debris protection devices, according to state media reports from Xinhua and China Central Television. The extravehicular activity concluded at 13:59 Beijing time.

The EVA

Zhu Yangzhu and Zhang Zhiyuan performed the external repair in coordination with the station's robotic arm and ground teams, working with the third crew member Li Jiaying, who supported operations from inside the Tianhe core module. It was the second time Chinese astronauts have performed an external repair of the space station's solar panels, a task aimed at ensuring the stability of its power supply. For Zhu, it was a return to spacewalking after three years, while Zhang completed his first EVA.

Mission Status

The Shenzhou-23 crew has been in orbit aboard Tiangong since May 25, 2026, more than three months into a planned long-duration mission. China's human spaceflight agency, CMSA, declared the spacewalk a complete success and confirmed the crew returned safely to the core module.

Broader Context

The EVA came in a busy week for Chinese space operations. On August 26, China announced a successful in-orbit test of two-way laser communication between Earth and the Moon, a distance of more than 400,000 kilometers, and on August 25 a Long March-6C rocket carried seven satellites to orbit from Taiyuan, including a Thai-made cubesat delivered for a Southeast Asian customer, the first whole-satellite export service of its kind for a Chinese commercial company.