Manipulator at a space station provides great help for extravehicular activities by moving astronauts or various loads outside the space station. Its teleoperation has high level of safety and efficiency requirements. This study extracts the process and characteristics of emergency rescue tasks and extravehicular activities of the space manipulator in China Space Station (CSS) and designs an emergency rescue task for an astronaut in the space station bulkhead to observe human behaviors and performance when manipulating the space manipulator under different conditions of task complexity and time pressure. The results demonstrated that task complexity significantly extended task completion time, with a notable interaction between time pressure and complexity at higher levels. Logistic regression indicates that higher complexity generally improved completion rates. Collision frequency and success rates were influenced by both factors, necessitating improved operational support for safety. Time pressure increased workload ratings, while task complexity’s impact was minimal due to inherent challenges of teleoperation task. This study provided valuable insights into the interplay between task complexity and time pressure in space manipulator teleoperation.