China's Shenzhou 16 spacecraft lifted off at 9:31 a.m. (8:31 a.m. Hanoi time), carrying three astronauts to the Tiangong space station for a five-month mission.
Shenzhou 16 spacecraft takes off from Jiuquan. Video : SCMP
The China Manned Space Administration (CMSA) declared the launch successful approximately 19 minutes after the spacecraft lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert in northern China as planned, according to SCMP. The astronauts are expected to dock with the Tiangong space station's Tianhe core module at an altitude of 400 km above the ground in nearly seven hours.
Commander Jing Haipeng of the Shenzhou 16 mission emphasized that the launch marked a new phase in the application and development of China's space program. This was Jing's fourth space flight, a record for a Chinese astronaut. He commanded the first crew of Chinese residents to participate in a mission outside Earth's atmosphere. Gui Haichao, a professor at Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, was the first Chinese astronaut and equipment expert. The third member of the crew was aerospace engineer Zhu Yangzhu.
The astronauts of the Shenzhou 16 mission include Gui Haichao, Jing Haipeng, and Zhu Yangzhu (from left to right). Photo: Xinhua
The astronauts will replace the crew members on the Tiangong space station, who are expected to return to Earth next month. They will conduct numerous experiments and assembly tasks during their six months in space, while continuing their research. The crew will perform orbital tests and study quantum phenomena, high-precision spacetime-frequency systems, test the theory of general relativity, and explore the origins of life.
Jing and her colleagues will be on the station and witness the docking process with the Tianzhou 7 unmanned cargo ship and the Shenzhou 17 mission.
An Khang (According to SCMP )
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