China launches spacecraft to bring 3 astronauts to space station

Show the construction China’s space station is entering the sprint phase.

The Long March-2F rocket carrying the Shenzhou-14 spacecraft, or “Divine Ship” in Chinese, was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China at 10:44 am on June 5. (local time, wake 02:44 GMT). The launch was broadcast live on China State Television.

Job building space station of China began in 2021 with the launch of Tianhe, the first and largest of the station’s three modules. The galaxy core module is inhabited by astronauts. The Van Thien and Mong Thien modules will be put into operation in July and October respectively, combined with Thien Ha to form a space station with a T-shaped structure.

Command Shenzhou mission-14 Chen Dong, 43, and teammates Liu Yang, 43, and Cai, 46, all of China’s second group of astronauts, will live and work on the space station for the previous six months. upon its return to Earth in December, with the arrival of the Shenzhou-15 crew.

Three Chinese astronauts attend a press conference ahead of the Shenzhou-14 mission at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, June 4, 2022. (Photo: China Daily)

Former air force pilot Chen Dong and Liu Yang, who became China’s first female astronaut in space a decade ago, and the first person of the space mission Taizuzhe, will oversee close to the destination, the landing and integration of the Wentian and Mong Thien modules with the core module. They will also install equipment inside and outside the space station and conduct a variety of scientific research.

“The Shenzhou-14 mission is a key mission in China’s space station construction phase,” Chen Dong said at a press conference at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on June 4. “The task will be more difficult, there will be more problems and the challenge will be bigger”

This space station is designed with a lifespan of at least 10 years.

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