Retired spacesuit to help design upgrades

Since then, the suit has been used by 11 astronauts across eight manned missions, becoming the first — among the five similar spacesuits used by Chinese astronauts — to have supported 20 spacewalks.

On Aug 15, it was used for the last time, supporting Chen Dong, commander of the Shenzhou XX flight, during the crew's third spacewalk.

In an interview with China Central Television, Chen, who, with six spacewalks under his belt, used the suit the most, said, "I have deep feelings for this suit. From the first time I wrote my name on its back, we built a kind of bond. I took care of it and it protected me."

According to an earlier report by Xinhua News Agency, each of the first three Chinese spacewalk suits weighs about 120 kilograms, features advanced technologies and high safety designs, and costs nearly 30 million yuan ($4.3 million).

In July, two new spacewalk suits were transported to the space station aboard the Tianzhou 9 cargo vessel. The new model features an optimized design and a longer life span, and can support more spacewalks, according to designers.