Chinese crew launches to new space station — including station’s first woman

By Georgina Torbet Published April 28, 2022

Three astronauts blasted off for China’s longest-ever stay in space this week. They will live on China’s new space station, Tianhe, for six months, during which time they’ll perform spacewalks from the station’s core module. The three include Zhai Zhigang and Ye Guangfu, as well as Wang Yaping, who is the first woman to stay on the new space station.

Chinese astronauts Zhai Zhigang (C), Wang Yaping (R) and Ye Guangfu. — Chinese astronauts Zhai Zhigang (C), Wang Yaping (R), and Ye Guangfu will carry out the Shenzhou-13 spaceflight mission, and Zhai will be the commander, announced the China Manned Space Agency at a press conference on Oct. 14, 2021. Xinhua

They launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China’s Gobi Desert, on a Shenzhou-13 spacecraft carried by a Long March-2F carrier rocket. Liftoff was at 12:23 a.m. Beijing Time on Saturday, October 16, as reported by state news agency Xinhau.

Recommended Videos

The crew arrived at the space station at 6:56 a.m. Beijing Time, with the spacecraft performing an automated docking procedure with the station’s core module. It docks alongside two cargo crafts also at the station: Tianzhou-2 and Tianzhou-3. The three astronauts entered the station at 9:58 a.m. Beijing Time.

During their stay, the crew will be testing out new technologies that will be used in the construction of the rest of the station, like the robotic arm for maneuvering hardware and equipment into place. They are scheduled to perform either two or three spacewalks (formally known as extravehicular activities, or EVAs) during their mission, and with Wang set to participate in these activities, she’ll become China’s first female spacewalker.

The inclusion of Wang on the crew has drawn support from current and former astronauts who wished her well on her historic mission, including Canadian Space Agency’s Chris Hadfield who tweeted his congratulations, and former NASA astronaut and International Space Station resident Cady Coleman, who told Wang in a video message that, “when you look out the window and you see the stars and you see the Earth, billions of women are looking out that window with you, including me.”

Congratulations Wang Yaping – fellow pilot, Colonel and astronaut, just beginning 6 months in space. Enjoy your spacewalk especially! https://t.co/HIiU60YzOV pic.twitter.com/dKTEkFWCg7

— Chris Hadfield (@Cmdr_Hadfield) October 16, 2021

Wang is also known as a space educator, as she gave a televised science lecture for schoolchildren during a previous mission on the Shenzhou-10 spacecraft in 2013. She’ll be giving another lecture this mission as well, inviting students to submit their questions about space.

Topics

Georgina Torbet

Space Writer

Georgina has been the space writer at Digital Trends space writer for six years, covering human space exploration, planetary…

Space

The space station just had to pull a maneuver to avoid space debris

The International Space Station.

The International Space Station (ISS) was repositioned on Tuesday, November 19, to move it well out of the way of approaching space debris, NASA reported.

Station operators fired the thrusters on the docked Progress 89 spacecraft for just over five minutes to raise the orbit of the ISS in a maneuver that provided an extra margin of distance from a piece of orbital debris, which came from a defunct defense meteorological satellite that broke up in 2015.

Space

Here’s what NASA plans to do with its shiny new SpaceX spacecraft

nasa lunar landers delivery plans hls large cargo 240419 jpg

As SpaceX gears up for the big sixth test flight of its Starship vehicle, NASA has announced its longer term plans for the next generation of SpaceX craft. The company is in the process of developing a human lander for the moon, which NASA intends to use along with a lander from Blue Origin to potentially carry astronauts to the lunar surface as part of the Artemis program.

But NASA won't just be carrying people in its two shiny new spacecraft. The agency announced today that it also intends to use the vehicles to carry cargo such as equipment and infrastructure to the moon.

Space

SpaceX Dragon to give the International Space Station an altitude boost today

A SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft docked at the space station.

Friday will see a new event for the International Space Station (ISS) as a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is used to boost its altitude for the first time. As drag works on the space station, its altitude gradually degrades over time, and so it needs to be given an occasional push to keep it at its correct altitude, around 250 miles from the Earth's surface.

The reboost is scheduled for today, November 8, as one of the Dragons that is currently docked to the space station will fire its thrusters for around 12.5 minutes. There are currently two Dragons docked -- one of which carried crew and one of which carried cargo to the station. The cargo vehicle will perform the boost maneuver. As this is the first time this has been attempted, NASA and SpaceX personnel will observe the event carefully.