Shenzhou 6 Taikonauts Achieve Firsts for China

The crew of China’s Shenzhou 6 spacecraft achieved a number of firsts during the country’s second manned spaceflight. The two taikonauts, as astronauts are known in China, Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng, both left their seats and floated in space even changing positions at one point. They also felt comfortable enough to get out of their flight suits during the mission. While Fei worked in the orbital module, Nie used a digital camera to take photographs of the flight, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported, adding that both taikonauts were expected to have taken off their 10-kilogram space suits.