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China successfully launched the Shenzhou 14 crewed mission to the Tiangong space station on Sunday, where the three astronauts will stay for six months to complete its construction, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
The Shenzhou 14 crew will spend six months on the Tiangong station, overseeing the addition of two laboratory modules to the main Tianhe living space, which will be launched in April 2021.
The astronauts launched aboard the Shenzhou 14 spacecraft at 10:44 a.m. local time, propelled by a Long March 2F rocket launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in Inner Mongolia’s remote Gobi Desert.
The spacecraft is expected to arrive at the under-construction space station in about seven hours.
The station will be in low-Earth orbit at a height of 340 to 450 kilometers. According to Chinese state media, it will have a 10-year lifespan once completed, but experts believe it could last up to 15 years with proper maintenance and repairs.
Shenzhou 14’s crew consists of three trained pilots from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) air force: Liu Yang, the first Chinese woman in space, veteran astronaut and commander Chen Dong, and pilot Cai Xuzhe, who is on his first space mission.
“About 577 seconds after the launch, Shenzhou 14 separated from the rocket and entered its designated orbit. The crew members are in good shape and the launch is a complete success,” an official news agency Xinhua report said, quoting the CMSA.
Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the CMSA, said at a press conference on Saturday that the crew on Shenzhou 14 will work with the ground team to complete the rendezvous with Tiangong, followed by docking and transposing the two lab modules with the core module.
While, the The Tianhe core module was launched in April 2021, the Wentian lab module is next and set to be launched in July. Finally, the Mengtian will be launched in October and will dock with the space station.
Two other crewed missions have already visited the space station and safely returned to Earth.
China began its manned space program in 1992, according to official media.
The first step was to send astronauts into space and ensure their safe return. The mission was completed with the launches of Shenzhou 5 in 2003 and Shenzhou 6 in 2005.
The next step was to put key technologies for a permanent space station to the test, such as extra-vehicular activity, orbital docking, and in-orbit propellant refueling.
The third step will be to build and operate a permanently crewed space station, which will set a new standard for Chinese space technology.
“China has so far launched more than a dozen manned spacecraft, one cargo spacecraft, Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2, sent more than 11 astronauts into space and completed the first two steps of the manned space programme,” the Xinhua news agency reported.
Source:HT
