A Feitian space suit () is a Chinese spacesuit that was developed for the

Shenzhou 7 Shenzhou 7 () was the third human spaceflight mission of the Chinese space program. The mission, which included the first Chinese extra-vehicular activity (EVA) carried out by crew members Zhai Zhigang and Liu Boming, marked the commencement of ...

. Taikonaut

Zhai Zhigang Zhai Zhigang (; born 11 October 1966) is a Chinese major general of the People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force (PLASSF) in active service as a People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps (PLAAC) taikonaut. During the Shenzhou 7 mission ...

wore it during China's first-ever

extra-vehicular activity Extravehicular activity (EVA) is any activity done by an astronaut in outer space outside a spacecraft. In the absence of a breathable Earthlike atmosphere, the astronaut is completely reliant on a space suit for environmental support. EVA inc ...

(EVA) on 27 September 2008. Similarly, taikonaut Liu Boming also wore the Feitian space suit and assisted Zhai in the process. The Feitian spacesuit was modelled after the Orlan-M spacesuit developed by

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. The two are similar in shape and volume and are designed for spacewalks of up to seven hours, providing oxygen and allowing for the excretion of bodily waste. The suit is reported to have cost $US4.4 million, and weighs . The name ''Fēi tiān'' literally and separately means "flying" and "sky" in Mandarin. It is a reference to the flying gods and goddesses ''feitian'', sometimes translated as flying apsara, in Chinese, and most famously depicted in Chinese art in the grottoes of Dunhuang. Images of the ''feitian'' from Dunhuang appear on the arm badge of the space suit.: "飞天两个字是绣着的，非常有立体感，是胡锦涛总书记题写的。下面还绣着两个敦煌的飞天美女。" The two characters ''Fei Tian'' are embroidered, and have a three dimensional feel, and were written by General Secretary Hu Jintao. Below are embroidered two ''feitian'' female figures from Dunhuang."]

References

External links

Comparison of Feitian and Haiying suits
Spacesuits Extravehicular activity {{space-stub