Shenzhou-14 Marks China's Latest Space Mission

"); jQuery("#212 h3").html("

Related News Programmes

"); });

2022-06-05 HKT 11:10

Share this story

facebook

  • Shenzhou-14 marks China's latest space mission

China on Sunday launched a new three-person mission to complete assembly work on its permanent orbiting space station.

The Shenzhou-14 crew will spend six months on the Tiangong station, during which they will oversee the addition of two laboratory modules to join the main Tianhe living space that was launched in April 2021.

Their spaceship blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre on the edge of the Gobi Desert at 10:44am atop the crewed space flight programme’s workhorse Long March 2F rocket.

About 10 minutes after the launch, Shenzhou-14 separated from the rocket and entered its designated orbit.

The crew members are in good shape and the launch is a complete success, the China Manned Space Agency declared.

The launch was broadcast live on state television.

Commander Chen Dong and fellow astronauts Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe will assemble the three-module structure joining the existing Tianhe with Wentian and Mengtian, due to arrive in July and October.

Another cargo craft, the Tianzhou-3, remains docked with the station.

The arrival of the new modules will “provide more stability, more powerful functions, more complete equipment,” said Chen, 43, who was a member of the Shenzhou-11 mission in 2016, at a press conference on Saturday.

Liu, 43, is also a space veteran and was China’s first female astronaut to reach space aboard the Shenzhou-9 mission in 2012.

Cai, 46, is making his first space trip.

Chen, Liu and Cai will be joined at the end of their mission for three to five days by the crew of the upcoming Shenzhou-15, marking the first time the station will have had six people aboard. (AP, with additional reporting by Xinhua)

____________________________



Last updated: 2022-06-05 HKT 12:31

RECENT NEWS

Tycoon Sits China's University Exams For 27th Time

Among the millions of fresh-faced high schoolers sitting the nation's dreaded "gaokao" college entrance exam on Wednesda... Read more

China's First Home-grown Large Cruise Liner Undocks

The first large cruise liner developed by China completed its undocking in Shanghai on Tuesday, marking its complete tra... Read more

Chinese, US Diplomats Hold 'frank' Talks In Beijing

Meetings between senior mainland and US officials in China this week struck an upbeat chord, with both sides agreeing to... Read more

China's Cruise Industry Set To Make Waves Again

China's cruise industry, suspended for more than three years due to the pandemic, is expected to resume operations in th... Read more

Toll From Deadly Landslide Rises To 19

All 19 people caught in a landslide in Sichuan province on Sunday have been confirmed dead, state media reported, announ... Read more

'Nato-like Alliance Disastrous For Asia-Pacific'

Defence Minister Li Shangfu on Sunday told the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore that any moves to establ... Read more