Three astronauts arrive on board the Chinese space station

Leader Task Ni Haisheng, accompanied by Liu Beoming and Tang Hongbo, took off Thursday, June 17, for the first manned flight to the space station. Chinese, nickname “Heavenly Palace”. they Rocket 2F . long walk, left at 9:22 a.m. (1:22 a.m.). GMTThe launch pad of the Jiuquan Space Launch Center in the northwest شمال Desert by Joby. Later, the Chinese spacecraft Shenzhou 12 Successfully docked with the country’s only space station unit. The entire process, including travel and docking, took about six and a half hours.

China is determined to build Its own station in space After the United States refused to allow it to participate in International Space Station (ISS). In a context of tension with the West, the success of this mission is a matter of prestige for Beijing as it prepares to celebrate its centenary Communist Party Chinese (CCP), early July. Just before they left, it was Astronauts Farewell to their families, during a ceremony with strong patriotic content.

The first crew of astronauts to join the Chinese space station

Article by Remy Decort, published on June 16, 2021

Tonight, China will launch a crew of three astronauts bound for the Chinese space station. The mission, which is scheduled to last three months, aims to start the orbital complex by verifying its functioning properly. A spacewalk is also planned.

The Long March 2F launcher is scheduled to take off on the night of Wednesday to Thursday and push the car Shenzhou 12 With three Chinese astronauts on board bound for Chinese space station. At the moment, it consists of two units, one of which is temporary. There the central body Tianhé, which was dispatched on April 28, was joined a month later by the Tianzhou 2 cargo vehicle, which was launched on May 29.

Docking at the orbital complex is scheduled for a few hours. Compared with the previous Shenzhou vehicles, the meeting and docking will be faster and more independent.

Unprecedented mission

The Shenzhou 12 mission will last about three months. It will be the longest stay in space for Chinese astronauts to date. During this long mission DurationSeveral spacewalks as well as technology demonstrations are planned to prepare for future manned flights. an arm robotic there will be.

The crew is scheduled to return to Earth in September. Shenzhou 12 will be China’s seventh manned spaceflight since 2003. In all, China has launched 11 astronauts into orbit on six Shenzhou missions. The next manned mission is already in preparation and is scheduled to take place in October 2021 after the launch of the Tianzhou 3 cargo ship that will power the space station. The mission will be longer and should last 6 months with a crew of 3 astronauts.