Jiuquan, China:
China sent three astronauts to its Tiangong space station on Tuesday, putting a civilian into orbit for the first time as it pursues plans to send a manned mission to the moon by 2030.
The world’s second-largest economy has invested billions of dollars in its military-led space program to catch up with the United States and Russia.
The crew of the Shenzhou-16 took off at 09:31 (0131 GMT) atop a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, AFP journalists saw.
They docked at the space station’s Tianhe core module on Tuesday afternoon, more than six hours after liftoff, state broadcaster CCTV said.
The launch was a “complete success” and the “astronauts are in good shape,” said Zou Lipeng, director of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
Dozens of space program employees, many of whom live on the massive grounds year-round, attended the launch and snapped selfies with the rocket in the background.
Children played while waiting for launch, some waving Chinese flags while perched on their parents’ shoulders.
Spectators gave a loud “wow,” shouted “good luck,” and waved as the rocket lifted off in a cloud of ocher smoke.
At the head of the crew is Commander Jing Haipeng on his fourth mission, as well as engineer Zhu Yangzhu and Professor Gui Haichao, the first Chinese citizen in space, professor at Beihang University.
China was the third country to put humans in orbit, and Tiangong is the crown jewel of its space program, which has also landed robotic rovers on Mars and the moon.
Shenzhou-16 is the first mission to Tiangong since it entered the “application and development” phase, authorities said.
The crew will meet their three colleagues from the Shenzhou-15 flight, who will be on station for six months and will return to Earth in the coming days.
Shenzhou-16’s crew will conduct a number of experiments during the mission, including in “high-precision space-time frequency systems”, general relativity and on the origin of life, China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) spokesman Lin Xiqiang said. to reporters on Monday.
The space station was resupplied this month with drinking water, clothing, food and propellant in preparation for the arrival of Shenzhou-16.
An expert told AFP Tuesday’s mission represented “a regular flight of the crew,” but even that was significant.
“Building deep experience in human spaceflight operations is important and doesn’t always bring new spectacular milestones,” said Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer and astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
‘Heavenly Palace’
China’s “space dream” has gained momentum under President Xi Jinping and the construction of a lunar base is planned.
“The overall goal is to achieve China’s first manned landing on the moon by 2030 and conduct lunar scientific exploration and related technology experiments,” said Lin of the CMSA.
The last module of Tiangong – meaning ‘heavenly palace’ – was successfully docked with the core structure last year.
The station contains several advanced scientific equipment, the state news agency Xinhua reported, including “the world’s first space-based cold atomic clock system.”
Tiangong is expected to remain in low Earth orbit at an altitude between 400 and 450 kilometers (250 and 280 mi) for at least 10 years.
It is constantly manned by rotating teams of three astronauts.
China has been effectively excluded from the International Space Station since 2011, when the United States banned NASA from engaging with the country, prompting Beijing to develop its own space outpost.
China’s space agency reiterated Monday that it is actively seeking international cooperation on the project.
China plans to send two manned space missions to Tiangong every year, according to the CMSA.
Next up is Shenzhou-17, with an expected launch in October.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is being published from a syndicated feed.)