China launches Shenzhou 17 crew to Tiangong house station

China’s Lengthy March 2F rocket launches the Shenzhou 17 crew into house. Credit score: CCTV+

China’s Shenzhou 17 mission with three taikonauts launched to the nation’s Tiangong house station, docking with the outpost some six hours later.

Liftoff atop a Lengthy March 2F rocket occurred at 11:14 p.m. EDT Oct. 25 (03:14 UTC / 11:14 a.m. Beijing time Oct. 26) from the Jiuquan Satellite tv for pc Launch Middle in China’s Gobi Desert. Aboard had been Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin.

After reaching orbit roughly 10 minutes after launch, the Shenzhou 17 spacecraft spent 6.5 hours catching up with the Tiangong house station, docking with the ahead port of the Tianhe core module at 5:46 a.m. EDT (09:46 UTC). They joined the already-aboard crew from Shenzhou 16, which launched in Could: Jing Haipeng, Zhu Yangzhu and Gui Haichao.

After a handover interval of a few week, the Shenzhou 16 crew is predicted to return to Earth, touchdown in China as early as Oct. 31. The Shenzhou 17 crew is slated to remain aboard the three-module outpost till Could. Throughout their mission, they’re anticipated to carry out varied science experiments and carry out upkeep on the outpost.

Specifically, according to CBS News, the crew might want to carry out a extra in-depth inspection after preliminary inspections counsel that the massive photo voltaic arrays have minor injury from tiny particles of house particles.

Shenzhou 17 is the sixth long-duration mission to Tiangong since 2021 and the twelfth general human spaceflight for China since 2003.

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Tagged: China Nationwide Area Administration Lead Tales Lengthy March 2F Shenzhou 17 Tiangong house station

Derek Richardson

Derek Richardson has a level in mass media, with an emphasis in up to date journalism, from Washburn College in Topeka, Kansas. Whereas at Washburn, he was the managing editor of the coed run newspaper, the Washburn Overview. He additionally has an internet site about human spaceflight known as Orbital Velocity. You could find him on twitter @TheSpaceWriter.