China has successfully launched its latest astronaut mission, Shenzhou 21, toward the Tiangong space station. The launch occurred on October 31 at 11:44 AM EDT (1544 GMT, or 11:44 PM Beijing time) from the Gobi Desert, utilizing a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.
The Shenzhou 21 spacecraft is anticipated to dock with the Tianhe core module of the Tiangong station approximately 3.5 hours post-launch. This mission employs a rapid automated rendezvous and docking approach, which reduces the docking time by about three hours compared to the previous Shenzhou 20 mission.
Onboard are three astronauts: commander Zhang Lu, 48, a veteran of the 2022 Shenzhou 15 mission; Wu Fei, 32, the youngest member of China”s astronaut corps and an engineer previously with the China Academy of Space Technology; and Zhang Hongzhang, 39, a researcher at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics.
At a press conference before the launch, Zhang Lu expressed his excitement, stating, “After two years, being able to once again represent my country and carry out the Shenzhou 21 mission fills me with excitement and anticipation.”
Upon arrival, the crew will join Chen Dong, commander of the Shenzhou 20 mission, along with his colleagues Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie. Notably, Chen Dong has recently made history by becoming the first Chinese astronaut to spend 400 days in orbit. He and his team are scheduled to return to Earth on November 3.
The Shenzhou 21 mission includes six types of experimental samples and four black mice, intended for studies on reproduction in low Earth orbit. Additionally, the robotic Tianzhou 10 cargo spacecraft is expected to arrive at Tiangong during the six-month duration of the Shenzhou 21 mission.
Similar in design to, yet slightly larger than, Russia”s Soyuz spacecraft, the Shenzhou vehicles facilitate crewed spaceflight. China is also in the process of developing the Mengzhou crew spacecraft, which will be partially reusable and capable of lunar missions.
This launch marks the 16th crewed mission for China, with Shenzhou 21 being the 10th crewed flight to the Tiangong space station and the seventh since the station”s completion in late 2022. China aims to maintain a continuous human presence at Tiangong for at least a decade while planning to expand the space station and explore commercial opportunities.
