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Outdoor use at the Chinese "Tiangong" space station
Photo: Guo Zhongzheng / AP
The astronaut Wang Yaping was the first Chinese woman to do a space walk.
As the Chinese space agency announced on Monday, Wang and her colleague Zhai Zhigang left the "Tiangong" ("Heavenly Palace") space station on Sunday evening for six-hour installation work.
They waved to a camera while they mounted a hanger on the station.
"This is the first spacecraft mission of the 'Shenzhou-13' crew and also the first in Chinese space history in which an astronaut takes part," said the space agency.
The mission went "smoothly and successfully".
The Shenzhou 13 space shuttle with Wang, Zhai and the military pilot Ye Guangfu reached the space station in mid-October.
The cosmonauts are to spend six months in the core module of the Tiangong station, which is still under construction.
For the military pilot Wang Yaping it is the second time in space since 2013.
In recent years, the People's Republic has invested billions in its space programs in order to catch up with the space nations USA and Russia.
China's space ambitions were fueled in part by a US ban on Chinese space travelers on the ISS.
The space station's core module was only launched into orbit at the end of April.
According to Chinese plans, the »Tiangong« should go into full operation in the coming year.
Eleven missions are planned by the end of 2022
The Chinese space agency is planning a total of eleven missions to the station by the end of 2022. Among other things, two crews and two new laboratory units are to be brought into orbit to expand the station.
When everything is ready, the »Tiangong« will weigh around 66 tons - making the space station significantly smaller and lighter than the International Space Station ISS.
This weighs around 450 tons.
The ISS is operated in collaboration with the USA, Russia, Canada, European countries and Japan.
It should be in service until 2024.
From China it is said that they are looking forward to welcoming astronauts from other countries to the »Tiangong«.
Under American law, cooperation between the American and Chinese space programs first requires congressional approval.
China is already cooperating with scientists from France, Sweden, Russia and Italy.
oka / AFP