The Chinese mainland’s Shenzhou-21 crewed spacecraft took off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Friday, Oct. 31, at 11:44 pm Beijing Time, kicking off a six-month mission to the orbiting space station.
On board the Long March-2F rocket are mission commander Zhang Lu, along with astronauts Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang. About 3.5 hours after liftoff, the spacecraft is set to complete an automated rendezvous and docking with the front port of the Tianhe core module.
Once docked, the Shenzhou-21 will join two other spacecraft and three station modules, marking the 37th flight mission of the Chinese mainland’s manned space program. This expansion boosts the station’s capacity for scientific research in microgravity, global Earth observation, and international cooperation.
Young innovators and space enthusiasts around the world will be watching as the crew begins their half-year stay, conducting experiments and testing new technologies that could pave the way for future deep-space missions. Readers are invited to track the mission’s progress and join the global conversation with #Shenzhou21.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
