First Astronauts Head to Tianhe Module in Nearly Five Years
China has successfully launched a spacecraft carrying three astronauts to its new space station, marking the nation’s first crewed spaceflight in almost five years. The astronauts—Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming, and Tang Hongbo—are en route to the core module of the Chinese space station.
The launch took place at 9:22 AM Beijing time (1:22 AM GMT) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre located in northwestern Gansu province, adjacent to the Gobi Desert. The spacecraft, Shenzhou-12, is set to dock with the main section of the space station, known as Tianhe, or Heavenly Harmony, which was placed in orbit on April 29.
This mission is part of the third of 11 planned missions through the end of next year, aimed at constructing and maintaining Tianhe while also delivering crew members and supplies. Over the next three months, the crew will reside in the space station’s living quarters and contribute to the assembly of the 66-ton, three-module orbital outpost.
