China launched Shenzhou-14 spacecraft with three astronauts on board

China launched Shenzhou-14 spacecraft with three astronauts

Science

China successfully launched the Long March 2F Yao 14 rocket carrying the Shenzhou 14 manned spacecraft with three astronauts on board to its Tiangong space station to finish building it on Sunday. This is the 23rd mission since the implementation of China’s manned space project, and it is also the third manned mission in the space station stage.

The launch was carried out at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, and about 577 seconds later, the Shenzhou 14 manned spacecraft successfully separated from the rocket and entered the predetermined orbit, the flight crew was in good condition and the launch was a complete success.

After the spacecraft entered orbit, it conducted a rapid autonomous rendezvous and docked with the space station assembly according to predetermined procedure. Afterwards, the astronauts entered the Tianhe core module, where they will stay for six months and carry out maintenance and care of the space station platform, robotic arm operation, module transfer and other work, as well as experiments. space science and technical experiments.

Currently, the complex of Tianhe, Tianzhou-3 and Tianzhou-4 is operating under normal conditions and is ready for astronaut rendezvous, docking and entry, Lin added.

Chinese astronauts Chen Dong, Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe are crewing the Shenzhou-14 spaceflight, of which Chen is the commander, the China Manned Space Flight Agency announced.