The Chinese spacecraft, which was launched on Tuesday morning, docked with the Tiangong Space Station. Chinese state media mentions. The three crew members are scheduled to remain aboard the station for three months before returning to Earth.
Shenzhou-12 . spacecraft launch It took place from Gansu Province in the northwestern part of the country before 03:30 Swedish time – and at 10:00 Swedish time, according to Chinese state media, the spacecraft docked with the Tiangong space station.
It is China’s first manned space flight in five years.
The three Taekwon astronauts – as they are called by the Chinese astronauts – are Ni Haisheng, 56, Liu Beoming, 54, and Tang Hongbo, 45.
The three astronauts will work and live aboard the cylindrical Tianhe – the first of three modules on the station – for three months, in a space 16.6 meters long and 4.2 meters in diameter.
The work they will do is not pioneering or special in itself. They will compile, modify and update the Official Activities Module within a year and a half. It’s a construction mission that, in a way, was described by space scientist Brad Tucker as the TT mission before launch.
The mission is the third of eleven missions – four of which are manned – needed to complete the Chinese space station.
The space station is one of many Chinese projects in space. Sensors have previously landed on Mars and the Moon. The space station will give China a permanent presence in space when completed. The country does not have access to the largest international space station, the ISS, as the US space agency prevents NASA from cooperating with China.
More Stories
EA President Talks New Dragon Age: 'A Return to What Made Bioware Great'
She thought she had bought a phone – she was shocked by its contents
Rumor: Lots of AI in Google's Pixel 10 and 11 cameras