China space station crew completes spacewalk

BEIJING (AP) — China’s orbiting space station crew has completed their first spacewalk of their six-month mission. Several more spacewalks are planned, demonstrating how such activities have become routine for Chinese astronauts. The China Manned Space Agency said that a number of tasks were carried out during Friday’s seven-hour extra-vehicular activity. Fei Junlong and Zhang Lu installed extension pumps outside the Mengtian laboratory module. The third member of the Shenzhou-15 mission, Deng Qingming, assisted from inside the station. China completed the Tiangong station in November with the addition of its third and final module, centered on the Tianhe living and command module. China built its own station after it was excluded from the International Space Station.