BEIJING听–听Three听颁丑颈苍别蝉别听补蝉迟谤辞苍补耻迟蝉听arrived on Wednesday at China’s聽蝉辫补肠别听蝉迟补迟颈辞苍听for the first in-orbit crew rotation in听颁丑颈苍别蝉别听蝉辫补肠别听history, launching operation of the second inhabited outpost in low-Earth orbit after the NASA-led International听厂辫补肠别听Station.
The听蝉辫补肠别craft Shenzhou-15, or “Divine Vessel”, and its three passengers lifted off atop a Long March-2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre at 11:08 p.m. (1508 GMT) on Tuesday in sub-freezing temperatures in the Gobi Desert in northwest China, according to state television.
Shenzhou-15 was the last of 11听尘颈蝉蝉颈辞苍s, including three聽previous crewed聽missions, needed to assemble the “Celestial Palace”, as the multi-module聽蝉迟补迟颈辞苍听is known in听颁丑颈苍别蝉别. The first听尘颈蝉蝉颈辞苍聽was launched in April 2021.
The听蝉辫补肠别craft docked with the聽蝉迟补迟颈辞苍听more than six hours after the launch, and the three Shenzhou-15聽补蝉迟谤辞苍补耻迟蝉听were greeted with warm hugs from the previous Shenzhou crew from whom they were taking over.
The Shenzhou-14 crew, who arrived in early June, will return to Earth聽after a one-week handover that will establish the听蝉迟补迟颈辞苍‘s ability to temporarily sustain six听补蝉迟谤辞苍补耻迟蝉, another record for China’s聽蝉辫补肠别听program.
The Shenzhou-15听尘颈蝉蝉颈辞苍聽offered the nation a rare moment to celebrate, at a time of widespread unhappiness over China’s zero-COVID policies, while its economy cools amid uncertainties at home and abroad.
“Long live the motherland!” many听颁丑颈苍别蝉别听netizens wrote on social media.
The “Celestial Palace” was the culmination of nearly two decades of听颁丑颈苍别蝉别听crewed听尘颈蝉蝉颈辞苍s to听蝉辫补肠别. China’s manned聽蝉辫补肠别听flights began in 2003 when a former fighter pilot, Yang Liwei, was sent into orbit in a small bronze-colored capsule, the Shenzhou-5, and became China’s first man in聽蝉辫补肠别听and an instant hero cheered by millions at home.
The聽蝉辫补肠别听蝉迟补迟颈辞苍听was also an emblem of China’s growing clout and confidence in its聽蝉辫补肠别听endeavors and a challenger to the United States in the domain, after being isolated from the NASA-led ISS and banned by US law from any collaboration, direct or indirect, with the American聽蝉辫补肠别听agency.
FUTURE ‘TAIKONAUTS’
Leading the Shenzhou-15听尘颈蝉蝉颈辞苍聽was Fei Junlong, 57, who hailed from China’s first batch of astronaut trainees in the late 1990s. His previous visit to聽蝉辫补肠别听was 17 years ago as commander of China’s second-ever crewed听蝉辫补肠别flight.
Fei was flanked by Deng Qingming, 56, who had trained for 24 years as an astronaut but had never been chosen for a听尘颈蝉蝉颈辞苍聽until Shenzhou-15. They were joined by former air force pilot Zhang Lu, 46, also a聽蝉辫补肠别听debutant.
The聽补蝉迟谤辞苍补耻迟蝉听will live and work on the T-shaped聽蝉辫补肠别听outpost for six months.
The next batch of “taikonauts”, coined from the听颁丑颈苍别蝉别听word for听蝉辫补肠别, to聽产辞补谤诲听迟丑别听station, in 2023, will be picked from the third generation of聽补蝉迟谤辞苍补耻迟蝉听with scientific backgrounds. The first and second batches of聽补蝉迟谤辞苍补耻迟蝉听in the 1990s-2000s were all former air force pilots.
China has started the selection process for the fourth batch, seeking candidates with doctoral degrees in disciplines from biology, physics and chemistry to biomedical engineering and astronomy.
The selection process has also been opened to applicants from Hong Kong and Macau for the first time.
During the聽蝉辫补肠别听station‘s operation over the next decade, China is expected to launch two crewed听尘颈蝉蝉颈辞苍s to the orbiting outpost each year.
Resident聽补蝉迟谤辞苍补耻迟蝉听are expected to conduct聽more than 1,000 scientific experiments – from studying how plants adapt in聽蝉辫补肠别听to how fluids behave in microgravity.
While still in its infancy compared with聽‘s technologies and experience, China’s聽蝉辫补肠别听program has come far since the mid-20th century, when the country’s late leader Mao Zedong lamented that China could not even launch a potato into orbit. – Reuters
