China sent three astronauts to its space station this Thursday (25) for a six-month stay. The mission is part of a regular replacement of occupants in Tiangong, which means heavenly palace.
The Shenzhou-18, or divine vessel, spacecraft and its three passengers took off atop a Long March-2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 8:58 p.m. local time (9:58 a.m. Brasília time), according to state media.
Leading the mission is Ye Guangfu, 43, who has been to the station before. He participated in the second Chinese manned mission to the station, in October 2021.
He is accompanied this time by Li Cong, 34, and Li Guangsu, 36. Both are going to space for the first time and were in the last group of astronauts in China’s space program.
All were former Air Force pilots.
Completed at the end of 2022, the Tiangong station can house a maximum of three astronauts per month at an orbital altitude of up to 450 km. It has a designed operational life of at least 15 years.
China has launched two manned missions to Tiangong per year since 2021, when construction of the outpost began, with Shenzhou-18 being the seventh.
Each crew stayed for about six months, performing spacewalks as well as scientific experiments within the station’s low-gravity environment.
Tiangong has become an emblem of China’s confidence in its space efforts after being excluded from the NASA-led International Space Station. China is prohibited by law from any direct or indirect collaboration with the American space agency.
Shenzhou-18 marks China’s 13th manned mission to space since Yang Liwei’s solo spaceflight in October 2003. Yang was the first Chinese person to reach space.
Tags: China launches mission astronauts space station Science
