Zhai Zhigang, a Chinese taikonaut, exited his spacecraft Shenzhou 7 for a spacewalk at about 0840 GMT on 27 September 2008. He completed his 18 minutes in space after retrieving a solid lubricant sample on the outside of the spacecraft.(1)



Zhai's spacesuit was reportedly a Chinese-built "Feitian" (or "fly the sky" in Chinese) weighing about 265 pounds (120 kg).(2) Probably, a modified Russian-suit, i.e. Orlan, Feitian took 15 hours to assemble and to don. An Orlan would have taken 4 to 6 hours to be spacewalk-ready in comparison.



Although no manned maneuvering unit (MMU) of the USA, Feitan proved to do its job while tethered to the spacecraft.



Shenzhou 7's re-entry module landed on Earth on 28 September 2008.



A fun question remains: Who gets to keep Zhai Zhigang's space-artifact, a Chinese flag, which he exhibited in space, back on Earth?



(1) http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/080927-spacewalk-wrap.html

(2) http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/imagedisplay/img_display.php?pic=080...