Key facts
- A laser maintenance device cut large-scale equipment outside the Tiangong space station at millimeter scale, Science and Technology Daily reported.
- The device was operated remotely from hundreds of kilometers away, according to the report.
- Huazhong University of Science and Technology's Huang Yu team and the Shanghai Institute of Space Power-Sources jointly developed the device.
- The team said it developed the flight unit in one year, from design through prototype, according to the report.
- China's earlier external repairs at the station were carried out by astronauts during spacewalks, the report said.
Chinese researchers have carried out a precision laser cutting test on equipment outside the Tiangong space station, operating the device remotely from hundreds of kilometers away, the state-run Science and Technology Daily reported on Wednesday, November 4.
The laser maintenance device was developed jointly by a team led by Huang Yu, a professor at the School of Mechanical Science and Engineering at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, and the Shanghai Institute of Space Power-Sources. According to the report, millimeter-scale cuts were made on a piece of "large-scale equipment" mounted outside the station.
Huang said maintaining and repairing equipment outside a station that operates for long periods is essential to its safe and routine operation. He said the team had to overcome the challenges of operating in extreme vacuum, strong radiation and sharp temperature swings, along with millimeter-level positioning and micron-level cutting precision.
The report said the team completed development from design through prototype to a flight unit in one year, and built an "8+2"-axis multi-degree-of-freedom fine adjustment mechanism, a three-degree-of-freedom capture mechanism and a multi-stage visual guidance system.
China's previous external repairs at the station were carried out by astronauts during spacewalks, including work in March 2024 and in August 2026 to repair solar panels damaged by space debris, according to the report. The laser test was carried out by remote operation from the ground.