China launches third manned mission to new space station

China successfully launched another manned mission to its new space station on Sunday, sending three astronauts who will continue construction work on the core Tianhe module for six months, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced.

Astronauts took off on the Shenzhou-14 spacecraft at 10:44 am local time, launched by a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert.

The three astronauts are Chen Dong, Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe, who are expected to dock with the space station in about 6.5 hours after launch.

Chen, the mission commander, was aboard China’s Shenzhou-11 manned space mission in 2016 and previously held the record for the longest stay in space by a Chinese astronaut. Liu became the first Chinese woman in space in 2012 on the Shenzhou-9 mission. And this will be Cai’s first mission in space.

This is the third manned mission during construction of the space station, which China plans to have fully manned and operational by December 2022. The first manned mission, a three-month stay by three other astronauts, was completed in September 2021. second, Shenzhou-13, three astronauts spend six months in space for the first time.

Six months is the standard mission length for many countries — but it’s an important opportunity for Chinese astronauts to get used to a long-term stay in space and help prepare future astronauts to do the same.

Six space missions were scheduled before the end of the year, including another manned mission, two laboratory modules and two cargo missions.

The team aboard the Shenzhou-14 will help with the docking, configuration and testing of the two laboratory modules Wentian and Mengtian, which are due to launch in July and October.

The modules will be mounted on a T-shaped structure, along with the central Tianhe cabin – the main living space for astronauts – which will be expanded from 50 cubic meters to 110 cubic meters, the CMSA said. Astronauts will also undertake two to three spacewalks.

At the end of the Shenzhou-14 mission, another three astronauts are expected to rotate and live with the crew for five to 10 days, raising the number of Chinese astronauts in space – which would be a new record.

When construction is complete, the Tiangong space station is expected to last 15 years. China plans to launch two manned missions and two cargo missions to the station every year, according to the CMSA.

China’s space program

Last year’s Shenzhou-13 mission was an important step forward for the country’s young space program, which is fast becoming one of the most advanced in the world.

China’s space program was delayed in the face of the global dispute over space – it was only created in the early 1970s, years after American astronaut Neil Armstrong had already landed on the moon -. But the chaos of China’s Cultural Revolution halted the country’s space effort — and the trip was delayed until the early 1990s.

Two classes of astronauts were chosen in 1998 and 2010, paving the way for rapid acceleration in space missions. Aided by the economic reforms of the 1980s, China’s space program progressed quietly until the launch of the first manned mission in 2003.

Since then, the government has poured billions of dollars into the space program – and the payoff has been evident. China successfully landed an exploratory rover on the Moon in December 2020 and one on Mars in May 2021. The first module of the Tiangong Space Station was launched in April 2021.

China’s ambitions span years into the future, with big plans for space exploration, research and commercialization. One of the biggest undertakings will be to build a joint China-Russia research station at the moon’s south pole by 2035 – a facility that will be open to international participation.

*With input from CNN’s Jessie Yeung and Steven Jiang