Two Chinese astronauts have successfully arrived at Tiangong 2 space station and now will stay there for next 30 days, according to China’s official news agency Xinhua. The crew arrived at the space station through Shenzhou (Divine Vessel) 11 manned spacecraft which docked with the space lab on October 19.
The Shenzhou 11 blasted of at 07:30 local time from the Jiuquan remote launch site, in the Gobi desert. The docking was completed 393 km above Earth, with procedure lasting for about two hours.
CCTV quoted Liu Ning, a senior official with China’s main space program contractor, as saying: “The door of Tiangong is a little bit troublesome… The astronaut needs to go through it horizontally and then raise (his) head to open the door.”
The People’s Daily posted on Twitter a short video showing Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong floating in the Tiangong 2 space lab.
The astronauts will now spend about 33 days in space, making it the longest space mission for China so far.
According to experts, the current mission is a preparation for the extensive plans of the Chinese space mission. In 2013, three Chinese astronauts had spent 15 days in orbit in a manned mission and docked with Tiangong 1 space lab.
Chinese astronauts are not allowed on the ISS, due to concerns of America. As a result, China is working on to build its own space station that will be smaller (60 tons) than the ISS (420 tons). The core module of this space station is expected to blast off in 2018 and get finished in 2022. It will have an expected lifespan of ten years.
Beijing is now giving priority to advancing China’s space program and President Xi Jinping has advocated the need for the country to establish itself as a space power. China has repeatedly said that its space program is for peaceful purposes. China is now the third country to have independently sent astronauts into space, and this is a big achievement for the country.
The blast off on October 17, 2016 was preceded by a ceremony in which twelve people, representing minorities of the Chinese nation, were dressed in different colors.
Defense Minister Fan Changlong announced the success of the launch and then read a message from President Xi Jinping asking Chinese astronauts to explore space, “More deeply and more broadly.”
Shenzhou 11 also carried with it three experiments designed by Hong Kong middle school students, including one that studies silk worms in space.
Jing is the commander of the mission. It is third voyage for him into space.
The US defense department has revealed its worries regarding China’s increasing space capabilities, stating that China is pursuing activities that intend to prevent other nations using space-based assets in a crisis.
Despite that, China has definitely increasing its power in space, and the success of its future space missions will ensure its place among the most powerful nations in the world.
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