By Riyaz ul Khaliq
ISTANBUL (AA) - Two Chinese astronauts set a new global record for the longest spacewalk, surpassing the previous milestone held by American astronauts.
The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced that the crew of the Shenzhou-19 mission completed their first extravehicular activity on Tuesday outside the Tiangong Space Station.
“Over nine hours, they carried out multiple tasks, setting a new record for the longest extravehicular activity by Chinese astronauts,” the CMSA said.
Astronauts Cai Xuzhe and Song Lingdong completed the spacewalk at 9:57 p.m. Beijing time (1357GMT).
The previous record of eight hours and 56 minutes was set on March 11, 2001, by American astronauts James Voss and Susan Helms during a mission outside the space shuttle Discovery at the International Space Station.
This was also the second-longest time Chinese astronauts, known locally as Taikonauts, have spent outside a spacecraft.
Earlier this year, Shenzhou-18 mission astronauts Ye Guangfu and Li Guangsu conducted an extravehicular activity lasting eight hours and 23 minutes.
China's first spacewalk took place in September 2008 when taikonaut Zhai Zhigang spent nearly 20 minutes outside the Shenzhou-7 spacecraft.
Separately, Japan’s space sector on Wednesday suffered another setback when a rocket failed to launch successfully for the second time.
A commercial Kairos No. 2 rocket aborted mid-flight after being launched from Space Port Kii in Kushimoto, Wakayama province, marking another challenge for Japan's efforts to bolster its presence in the competitive space industry.