--- title: "China Installs Defensive Countermeasures on Space Station" description: "Taikonauts Zhang Lu and Wu Fei installed debris protection panels on China's Tiangong during an eight-hour spacewalk." date: "2025-12-14" modified: "2025-12-14" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/space/china-tiangong-debris-protection" categories: - "Space" --- # China Installs Defensive Countermeasures on Space Station ![Taikonauts Zhang Lu and Wu Fei installed debris protection panels on China's Tiangong during an eight-hour spacewalk.]() *Getty / Futurism* About a month after a tiny piece of space debris stranded three astronauts for nine days aboard China's Tiangong space station, the taikonauts aboard the orbital outpost have begun making some modifications. According [to state media network *CGTN*](), the country's space travelers Zhang Lu and Wu Fei endured an eight-hour spacewalk earlier this week in order to install a debris protection panels on the space station's outer hull. While there, they also performed an inspection of Tiangong's exterior, along with other minor repairs. The countermeasure installation comes after the China Manned Space Agency pulled off an [uncrewed emergency flight]() to Tiangong in under two weeks after the damage was discovered. It was an impressive feat, to say the least. Although the [Shenzhou-20 space vehicle]() was meant to bring the previous crew back on November 5, cracks in the craft's window caused by the space debris led to it being judged unsafe for the return voyage. Instead, the crew who arrived abord the Shenzhou-20 had to use the Shenzhou-21 craft, leaving the newly-arrived crew without a return vehicle. Thankfully, the emergency flight was a success, delivering the Shenzhou-21 crew a [new return vessel](), the Shenzhou-22, which presumably came along with the debris protection materials. Orbital debris has become a major issue for space agencies throughout the world, as your average hunk can travel as [fast as 15 km per second](), or over 10 times the speed of a bullet on Earth. Given that there are over 25,000 tracked pieces of space garbage floating about — and as many as 170 million bits that are too small to track — this combination could prove deadly for manned space missions. Stateside, startups like [Atomic-6]() are working on materials like "space armor," composite-to-resin tiles meant to protect satellites and manned craft alike from the ever-growing threat. For decades, space agencies have used barriers called [Whipple shields]() to protect vehicle hulls from impact. These are incredibly bulky, however, and have a tendency to break into "secondary debris" on impact with space junk, which only kicks the can further down the road. With any luck, the CMSA's countermeasures will help the agency stave off any further catastrophe, though the danger is far from over. **More on Tiangong space station**: *[China Installs Oven in Space Station, Astronauts Use It to Enjoy Succulent Barbecue Feast]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()