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27 SEPTEMBER 2008 Zhai Zhigang [EVA]; Liu Boming [SEVA] (Shenzhou VII) Duration 22 min (approx) This was China's first EVA and as such was mainly symbolic: no actual scientific or engineering work was attempted. With the third crewman Jing Haipang sealed in the Descent Module, Zhai and Liu depressurised the Orbital Module and opened the hatch. Zhai was wearing a Chinese-made Feitan spacesuit, while Liu's was the standard Orlan type used by the Russians and purchased from them. With the manoeuvre covered live on Chinese television, Zhai emerged and gripped a handrail next to the hatch, while Liu pushed his head and upper body out into space and handed his colleague a Chinese flag, which Zhai waved proudly. Different sources give various figures for the duration of the EVA. Only EVA to date for both taikonauts

26 SEPTEMBER No EVAs on this date.

I knew a guy who worked in quality control at the Mars factory. He was on the M&M production line but got the sack for throwing away all the W's.

25 SEPTEMBER No EVAs on this date.

24 SEPTEMBER No EVAs on this date.

23 SEPTEMBER No EVAs on this date.

22 SEPTEMBER 1973 Al Bean & Owen Garriott (Skylab 3) Duration 2 hr 45 min Three days before their mission came to an end, Bean and Garriott retrieved the exposed film cassettes from the ATM and replaced them with new ones for use by the Workshop's next occupants. They also recovered exposed collectors and sample experiments, including a section of the same material used in the parasol shield. A leak in the facility which provided water to the spacesuits' cooling system, so the astronauts had to rely on air cooling, but this was adequate for the undemanding tasks they had to carry out. Garriott reported becoming slightly warm as the EVA progressed, while Bean's hands were warm throughout, but the days of dangerous overheating were long gone. Third and last EVA for Bean, though his first in microgravity (his previous two were on the lunar surface), bringing his career total to 10 hr 30 min. Third and last also for Garriott: his total is 13 hr 46 min.

21 SEPTEMBER No EVAs on this date.

20 SEPTEMBER 1993 Vasili Tsibliyev & Aleksandr Serebrov (Mir Expedition 14) Duration 3 hr 13 min The cosmonauts continued the assembly of the Rapana truss, a cylindrical framework with memory alloy joints similar to those on the Sofora boom. As these were heated, they expanded and caused the truss to unfold from its container. It took just three minutes for it to reach a length of 5m. The cosmonauts installed space exposure samples on the truss before returning to the airlock. Second EVA for Tsibliyev; the seventh for Serebrov

19th SEPTEMBER No EVAs on this date.

18th SEPTEMBER No EVAs on this date.

17 SEPTEMBER No EVAs on this date.

16 SEPTEMBER 1993 Vasili Tsibliyev & Aleksandr Serebrov (Mir Expedition 14) Duration 4 hr 18 min The cosmonauts transferred equipment between the Kvant 2 and Kvant modules using the Strela crane, then installed a platform on the Sofora boom. Finally, they mounted a container holding the Rapana truss to its attachment site and connected it to Mir's electrical system. First EVA for Tsibliyev; sixth for Serebrov. 1993 Carl Walz & James Newman (STS-51) Duration 7 hr 5 min The Tsibliyev-Serebrov EVA was still in progress when Walz and Newman began theirs, so this set a new record for the number of people outside their spacecraft at the same time. The US astronauts' task was to evaluate tools and techniques that would be used in the Hubble Space Telescope repair mission planned for later in the year. Before this, however, Walz checked for any damage caused when two explosive restraint cords, which had retained the Shuttle's satellite payload in place, had detonated simultaneously. He found damage to the satellite's support ring and tears in the thermal insulation blanket on the rear cargo bay bulkhead, but nothing to cause any concern. Walz opted not to handle the debris to avoid the risk of cutting his gloves. The astronauts then began the tool evaluation, testing tethers for high and low torque work and checking out foot restraints. Throughout all of this they reported back on the differences between training in the WETF tank and actual on-orbit work: overall, the water experience was more difficult than the EVA. The astronauts were running ahead of schedule until they began closeout, when a stuck toolbox lid meant the EVA lasted forty-five minutes longer than planned. First EVA for both astronauts. 1994 Mark Lee & Carl Meade (STS-64) Duration 6 hr 51 min In the first untethered EVAs since the MMU flights ten years earlier, the astronauts tested a device which could be used if a spacewalker became detached from the spacecraft structure. Known as SAFER (for Simplified Aid For EVA Rescue), it weighed just 38kg, more than 114kg lighter than the MMU, and was worn under the PLSS backpack so could be part of the standard EVA equipment. In addition, there were no bulky hand controller arms that would interfere with construction work: the unit was operated with a small box that for these tests was secured to the astronaut's chest but in the production version would swing out when a lanyard was pulled. SAFER has 24 fixed-position thrusters, with four compressed nitrogen tanks holding 60 seconds' worth of nitrogen if the device is used for translation, or 120 seconds for rotation and stabilisation. In practice, the astronauts found that the device actually used less propellant than predicted. After completing the familiarisation and engineering data portions of the test, Lee and Meade took turns standing in a foot restraint on the manipulator arm and tumbling the other. The tumbled astronaut activated SAFER’s automatic attitude hold system, stabilised, then manoeuvred toward the arm, which was pulled away to simulate a separation rate of 0.06 metres per second. Meade rolled Lee at 2 rpm - faster than planned, but SAFER stabilised him without difficulty. Finally, the astronauts took turns flying SAFER precisely along the arm to a point near the aft flight deck windows. During the tests the astronauts replenished SAFER’s propellant supply from the nitrogen recharge unit at the front of Discovery’s payload bay seven times. The astronauts also evaluated an electronic cuff checklist, planned as a replacement for paper lists, but this was not a success. First EVA for Lee; first and only one for Meade. 1995 James Voss & Michael Gernhardt (STS-69) Duration 6 hr 46 min The astronauts rehearsed techniques that would come to be used in the assembly of the International Space Station: removing thermal blankets and debris shields from a work panel on the starboard side of the cargo bay, testing power tools on fasteners and manipulating equipment boxes, electrical conduits and an antenna boom. The EVA was also designed to test suit improvements to keep the astronauts warm, including heaters in the glove fingertips: when not working on the panel, each astronaut was 'cold soaked' 9m above the cargo bay for 45 minutes while carrying out repetitive tool-handling tasks, but despite this they reported remaining comfortable throughout. First EVA for each astronaut.

15 SEPTEMBER 1992 Anatoli Solovyov & Sergei Avdeyev (Mir Expedition 12) Duration 3 hr 33 min The cosmonauts transferred the Kurs rendezvous and docking antenna to the Kristall module, ready for the arrival of Soyuz TM-16, which would test the new androgynous docking system to be used when the Space Shuttle began its visits. This system was different from the one used on Apollo-Soyuz but operated on the same principle, doing away with the probe-and-drogue mechanism so that in theory any spacecraft could dock with any other. The cosmonauts also recovered an experimental solar panel which had been exposed to the space environment for four years, as well as micrometeorite panels and samples of construction material which had been on Kvant 2 for a rather shorter period. Sixth EVA for Solovyov; fourth for Avdeyev. 1998 Gennady Padalka & Sergei Avdeyev [IVA] (Mir Expedition 26) Duration 30 min The cosmonauts performed another Intravehicular Activity inside the damaged Spektr module, reconnecting the orientation cable for the solar array and hooking up connectors to the array's servomotors. First spacewalk for Padalka; seventh for Avdeyev 2006 Joseph Tanner & Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper (STS-115/ISS) Duration 6 hr 42 min The astronauts activated the solar arrays' cooling radiator for the first time and replaced an S-band radio antenna that provided backup comms between the ISS and Mission Control. They also installed protective insulation around another communications device and used an infrared camera to photograph the Orbiter's wings, both tasks scheduled for a future EVA. Seventh and last EVA for Tanner: his career total amounts to 46 hr 29 min. Second EVA for Stefanyshyn-Piper.

14 SEPTEMBER 1966 Dick Gordon [SEVA] (Gemini XI) Duration 2 hr 08 min Gordon opened his hatch just before orbital sunset then stood up in his seat and used an ultraviolet astronomical camera to shoot pictures of Orion and Antares. He was held in place by a short tether, allowing him to use both hands. When the spacecraft passed into daylight he carried out general photography including Houston and Florida. There were no targets during the transatlantic crossing, and both astronauts were so relaxed that they fell asleep. Gordon performed more astronomical photography on the night side before closing the hatch. Gordon's second and last EVA; his total is 2 hr 41 min.