China’s Shenzhou 15 Manned Spacecraft Successfully Docks With Tiangong Space Station
A Long March-2F carrier rocket, carrying the Shenzhou-15 spacecraft with three astronauts to China’s Tiangong space station, lifts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China’s Gansu Province late on November 29, 2022.
BEIJING (Sputnik) – China’s Shenzhou 15 manned spacecraft carrying a crew of three taikonauts successfully docked with the Tianhe module of the Tiangong space station on Wednesday, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).The agency noted that docking took place at 5:42 a.m. Beijing time (21:42 GMT) around 6.5 hours after the spacecraft was launched with the Long March 2F launch vehicle.The crew includes commander Fei Junlong, Deng Qingming and Zhang Lu.At 7:33 a.m. Beijing time (23:33 GMT) the crew entered the space station and met with the crew of the Shenzhou-14 mission, which has been taking place since June.During the Shenzhou-15 mission, the last construction stage of the Chinese orbital station will be completed, and the stage of its use and development will officially begin.© AP Photo / Beijing Aerospace Control CenterChina’s Shenzhou-9 manned spacecraft, left, conducts docking with the Tiangong-1 space lab module.
China’s Shenzhou-9 manned spacecraft, left, conducts docking with the Tiangong-1 space lab module.After the arrival of the manned spacecraft to the station, its first orbital rotation of crews is soon expected to take place, during which the Shenzhou-14 crew will go to Earth after a six-month mission, and the Shenzhou-15 crew will continue working at the station until May.Construction of the Tiangong space station officially began in April 2021. The basic structure of the T-shaped station consists of the Tianhe core module and two laboratory modules – Wentian and Mengtian – docked to it. The station can host up to six people at the same time during a crew rotation change. The operational life of the station is 15 years and should end in 2038.
