Editor: GUO Naifei | Nov 09, 2021                 

A transfer for robotic arms and suspension device were successfully mounted on to the outside of the Tianhe core cabin of the China Space Station by the Shenzhou 13 crew ZHAI Zhigang, WANG Yaping and YE Guangfu on November 7, 2021.

The Chinese Taikonauts worked together from both inside the space station and outside in space to complete the task.

The suspension device, jointly developed by Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics (CIOMP) of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), connects the transfer to the space station.

The installed transfer will serve as a connector for the space station’s dual robotic arms, one large and one small. The robotic arms will be installed at a later date.

Linked together by the transfer, the total length of the two robotic arms will reach 14.5m. The transfer, including an adaptor for the large arm and one for the small arm, is jointly developed by the Institute of Spacecraft System Engineering of the China Academy of Space Technology, CIOMP and HIT.

We look forward to seeing the robotic arms, fully mounted, aiding the taikonauts with their missions outside the Tianhe core cabin of the Chinese space station!