Shenzhou-12 takes crew on historic mission
China sends astronauts to live on its space station in low-Earth orbit for three months
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A Long March-2F rocket, carrying the Shenzhou-12 spacecraft and a crew of three astronauts, lifting off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the Gobi desert in north-west China yesterday. The crew boarded the space station core module Tianhe, where they will live for three months, the longest stay in low-Earth orbit by any Chinese national.
PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
JIUQUAN (Gansu) • Three Chinese astronauts yesterday flew to an unfinished space station in China's first crewed mission since 2016, expanding the country's already growing near-Earth presence and challenging American leadership in orbital space.
The astronauts were sent to space on Shenzhou-12, or "Divine Vessel", and boarded the space station core module Tianhe, where they will live for three months, the longest stay in low-Earth orbit by any Chinese national.
The spacecraft is the third of 11 missions - four of which will be crewed - needed to complete China's first full-fledged space station.
Now that it has docked, Shenzhou-12 will effectively become another piece of the space station, which is orbiting 390km above Earth, slightly lower than the International Space Station (ISS).
Construction began in April with the launch of Tianhe, an orbiting module that is the first and largest part of the Tiangong, or "Heavenly Palace", space station. The space station, due to be completed next year, will be the only alternative to the two-decade-old ISS, which may be retired in 2024.
If the ISS - backed mainly by the United States, Russia, Japan, Europe and Canada - is decommissioned, China would be the operator of the only active space station. That would potentially give it greater power in shaping future norms and regulations for near-Earth space, which is already teeming with Chinese satellites.
"At this current stage, we haven't considered the participation of international astronauts, but their future participation will be guaranteed," said Dr Zhou Jianping, chief designer of China's manned space programme.
"I'm aware that many countries have expressed their wish in this regard," Dr Zhou told foreign reporters at the Shenzhou launch site in north-western Gansu province.
Astronauts Nie Haisheng, 56, Liu Boming, 54, and Tang Hongbo, 45, are to work and stay on Tianhe, the living quarters of the future space station, for three months.
During their sojourn on the cylinder-like Tianhe, the three men will test the module's technologies including its life-support system. They will also be monitored for how they fare in space physically and psychologically for an extended period of time.
An upcoming mission to the space station will last six months.
"This will be the first crewed flight in the space station (construction) phase, and I'm lucky to be able to have the 'first baton'," Mr Nie told reporters in Jiuquan a day before the launch.
The veteran astronaut has been hailed by his team as a bastion of stability and a teacher figure who constantly challenges others with tough questions.
"As long as we have him in our hearts, we have nothing to fear," fellow astronaut Wang Yaping, who is part of the Shenzhou-12 backup team, told state media previously. "In our crew, elder brother Nie is like the needle that stills the sea," she said.
Mr Liu, like Mr Nie, was from the first batch of astronauts selected in the 1990s for China's space programme.
Mr Tang, a former air force pilot, was from a later batch of astronauts, and trained for more than a decade before being selected for his first spaceflight on Shenzhou-12.
"I've waited for 11 years, and finally I'm ready, and I can contribute my strength," Mr Tang told reporters on Wednesday.
The Shenzhou, modelled on the Soviet-era Soyuz spacecraft, though larger, consists of three modules, including a re-entry craft that will bring the astronauts back.
Shenzhou-5 carried the first Chinese astronaut to space in 2003, making China the only country besides the US and the Soviet Union and, its successor, Russia, to complete the feat independently.
China has since carried out five more crewed flights and sent 11 astronauts into space, including Mr Zhai Zhigang, who carried out China's first space walk ever on the 2008 Shenzhou mission.
REUTERS, XINHUA, BLOOMBERG, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, NYTIMES
