Beijing: China on Sunday launched a spacecraft carrying three astronauts chinese space stationDue to be completed by the end of the year, construction entered a critical phase.
A Long March-2F rocket carrying Shenzhou-14, or “Divine Vessel” in Chinese, took off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 10:44 a.m. (0244 GMT), according to state television. Shown is a live broadcast.
Construction of the space station began last year with the launch of the first and largest of its three modules – tian – Living quarters for visiting astronauts. module ventilation and mangties It is scheduled to be launched in July and October respectively, docking with Tianhe to form a T-shaped structure.
Shenzhou-14 Mission Commander chen dong43, and teammates liu yang43, and kai zuseThe 46-year-old will live and work on the space station for six months before returning to Earth in December with the arrival of the Shenzhou-15 crew, a group of other astronauts from China.
Along with Liu, Chen, a former Air Force pilot who became China’s first female astronaut in space a decade ago, and Cai, a space mission debutant, will oversee the rendezvous, docking and integration of Wentian and Mengtian 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 an important battle in the construction phase of China’s space station,” Chen told a news conference in Jiuquan on Saturday. “The task will be harder, there will be more problems and there will be more challenges.”
The space station is designed to have a lifespan of at least a decade.
A Long March-2F rocket carrying Shenzhou-14, or “Divine Vessel” in Chinese, took off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 10:44 a.m. (0244 GMT), according to state television. Shown is a live broadcast.
Construction of the space station began last year with the launch of the first and largest of its three modules – tian – Living quarters for visiting astronauts. module ventilation and mangties It is scheduled to be launched in July and October respectively, docking with Tianhe to form a T-shaped structure.
Shenzhou-14 Mission Commander chen dong43, and teammates liu yang43, and kai zuseThe 46-year-old will live and work on the space station for six months before returning to Earth in December with the arrival of the Shenzhou-15 crew, a group of other astronauts from China.
Along with Liu, Chen, a former Air Force pilot who became China’s first female astronaut in space a decade ago, and Cai, a space mission debutant, will oversee the rendezvous, docking and integration of Wentian and Mengtian 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 an important battle in the construction phase of China’s space station,” Chen told a news conference in Jiuquan on Saturday. “The task will be harder, there will be more problems and there will be more challenges.”
The space station is designed to have a lifespan of at least a decade.