JIUQUAN: Three Chinese astronauts, including the country’s only female spaceflight engineer, entered the Tiangong space station on Wednesday following an early morning launch into orbit.
The Shenzhou-19 mission launched at 4:27 am from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China, as reported by Xinhua and state broadcaster CCTV.
Crew Members
Among the crew is Wang Haoze, 34, China’s only female spaceflight engineer, and the third Chinese woman to participate in a crewed mission. The crew arrived around 12:51 pm and met with the astronauts from the previous Shenzhou-18 mission, initiating a new round of in-orbit crew handover, according to Xinhua.
Mission Objectives
The new team will conduct experiments aimed at the space programme’s goal of placing astronauts on the Moon by 2030 and eventually constructing a lunar base.
“Like everyone else, I dream of going to the space station to have a look,” Wang stated at a media gathering on Tuesday. “I want to meticulously complete each task and protect our home in space,” she added.
Launch Success
The launch was deemed a “complete success” by the space agency, with the spaceship separating from the rocket and entering its designated orbit about 10 minutes after liftoff. Xinhua later reported that the spaceship had made a fast, automated rendezvous and docking with the front port of the space station’s core module Tianhe at 11:00 am, and that the trio then entered the module.
Leadership and Experience
The team, headed by Cai Xuzhe, will return to Earth in late April or early May next year, as per CMSA Deputy Director Lin Xiqiang. Cai, a 48-year-old former air force pilot, brings experience from a previous stint aboard Tiangong as part of the Shenzhou-14 mission in 2022.
“Having been selected for the new crew, taking on a new role, facing new tasks and new challenges, I feel the honour of my mission with great responsibility,” Cai said.
Crew Preparation
Completing the astronaut lineup is 34-year-old Song Lingdong. The new and old crew will live and work together for about five days to complete planned tasks and handover work, according to the CMSA.
The Shenzhou-18 crew is scheduled to return to Earth on November 4.
China’s Space Ambitions
China has accelerated plans to achieve its “space dream” under President Xi Jinping. Its space programme was the third to put humans in orbit and has also landed robotic rovers on Mars and the Moon
