Shenzhou 19, carrying the youngest and first civilian female Chinese astronaut, was successfully launched.
According to Xinhua News Agency, China launched Shenzhou 19, carrying three astronauts, on a Jiangcheng 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu Province at 4:27 am on the 30th.
About 10 minutes later, Shenzhou 19 separated from the rocket and entered Earth’s orbit.
Next, we successfully docked with the space station and met with the Shenzhou 18 astronauts who were performing their mission.
Chinese authorities broadcast this scene live online.
◾️ ‘Youngest person’ to reach outer space
There are three people on board Shenzhou 19, including Commander Cai Xizhe, Song Lingdong, and Wang Haoze.
Except for Commander Tsai, the two people were born in 1990.
State media commented that the youngest astronauts in China’s space development history have reached outer space.
Xinhua News Agency emphasized, “This is the first time Zhu Linghou has gone into space.”
‘Zhu Linghou (post-90s)’ refers to people born in the 1990s.
Xinhua News Agency released a video of the Shenzhou 19 and 18 astronauts meeting on this day and explained, “Astronauts born in the 70s, 80s, and 90s gathered at Tiangong, forming the fifth space reunion in Chinese space history.” .
◾️First civilian woman
Shenzhou 19 passenger Ms. Wang is China’s only female space engineer.
She is also the third Chinese woman to participate in a manned spacecraft launch project.
The previous two women were former Air Force pilots, but Ms. Wang is a civilian.
This mission will mainly supervise space experiments, cargo management, and space station operations.
◾️ Complete 6-month mission
Commander Tsai carried out the Shenzhou 14 spaceflight mission in 2022.
Chinese media explained that through this mission, a new record was set for Chinese astronauts to perform two missions at the shortest interval.
The three will stay on the space station for about six months after replacing the Shenzhou 18 astronauts who left Earth last April.
During this period, we went out of the spacecraft several times and conducted experiments in basic microgravity physics, space materials science, and space medicine.
We also plan to carry out missions such as installing protection devices against space debris and installing external payloads and equipment.
Meanwhile, Shenzhou 18, which has completed its mission, will return to the Dongfeng landing site in China on the 4th of next month.
◾️ Shenzhou No. 20 and 21 scheduled for next year
Chinese authorities announced that they plan to launch the cargo spacecraft Tianzhou 8 next month, followed by Shenzhou 20 and 21, and Tianzhou 9 next year.
Shenzhou is China’s manned spacecraft program, which is based on Soyuz spacecraft technology introduced under a contract with Russia in the 1990s.
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