Chinese astronauts begin to occupy China’s space station

Three Chinese astronauts, also known as taikonauts, have started to inhabit the Tianhe module, the first and main module of China’s new and currently under construction Tiangong space station. They will stay there for three months which is the longest manned space mission in Chinese history.

The three Chinese astronauts are Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming, and Tang Hongbo. As quoted from Xinhua, the three taikonauts entered the Tianhe module on Thursday (17/6/2021) at 18:48 Chinese time or 17:48 WIB after traveling more than 9 hours since being launched from Earth.

The astronauts were sent to Tianhe in orbit at an altitude of 380 kilometers on Thursday at 09:22 Chinese time. They departed on the Shenzou-12 spacecraft aboard a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert, northwest China.

The success of the three taikonauts entering Tianhe was greeted with thunderous applause from the mission control room on Earth. This is the first time in five years that Chinese astronauts have returned to the country’s space station.

Also read: China Sends Space Mission Again, Its Astronauts Will Teach From Space

The last time Chinese astronauts stayed on the old version of the Chinese space station Tiangong-2 was in 2016. The prototype of the Tiangong-2 space station reentered Earth’s atmosphere in July 2019 and crashed out of control in the southern Pacific Ocean.

Now, China is building its new space station, also named Tiangong. The first module of the space station, Tianhe, weighs 22.5 tons. The new Tiangong space station is estimated to have 12 sections and a total weight of 70 tons and will be completed by 2022.

Tianhe which has a length of 16.6 meters and a diameter of 4.2 meters will be the main part of Tiangong. This module can be used for residences, science laboratories, to telescopes like the Hubble Space Telescope to explore the universe.

The presence of three Chinese astronauts on China’s own space station is proof of China’s ability to master space technology quickly and independently. This event also shows that China is starting to dominate in space exploration.

In recent years, China’s space mission has made rapid progress that has astonished many countries.

In recent years, China’s space mission has made rapid progress that has astonished many countries. In 2019, China became the first country to land and operate a robot on the lunar surface on the back side of the Moon. Meanwhile, in May 2021, China became the second country to successfully land and operate a probe on the surface of Mars.

Currently, China is also confidently building its own space station. This pattern is certainly contrary to the trend of cooperation between countries in space exploration, such as in the construction of the ISS International Space Station which was built and managed by a number of space agencies from the United States, Russia, Canada, Japan, and the European Union.

Prior to the launch, Nie Haisheng, who was the commander of this flight, said he had high hopes for the success of this mission. “We need to build new homes in space and test new technologies. Therefore, this mission is tough and challenging. We have the confidence to complete this task,” he was quoted as saying by the BBC.

However, China is keeping the names of the astronauts who will be assigned to the Shenzhou-12 mission a secret. The name of the astronaut was only announced to the public on Wednesday (16/6/2021) or the day before the launch.

Nie Haisheng, 56, is the oldest Chinese astronaut to be sent into space. However, the fighter pilot has flown to the Tiangong prototype twice before, including a 15-day stay on Tiangong-1 in 2013.

The other crew members were Liu Boming (54) and Tang Hongbo (45), both of whom also had an air force background. Previously, Liu had joined the Shenzhou-7 mission in 2008 which made him involved in China’s first space mission. As for Tang, this is the first time flying into orbit.

The food, fuel, and various equipment needed by the three Shenzhou-12 crew had already been delivered on the previous flight. The plane carrying the logistics is still attached to Tianhe. Therefore, the first task of the three taikonauts is to unload the logistics they will use during their stay in Tianhe, including two space suits for a space walk or work outside the space station.

Open

Over the past few decades, China has indeed poured enormous funds into various space projects and spaceflights. The independent development of space technology is inseparable from the United States embargo on aerospace and space products made in China.

In addition, the government’s political support in the development of space technology is very large, including from President Xi Jinping. Meanwhile, China’s state media regularly continues to promote the “space dream” as an effort to “regenerate the nation”.

Although Tiangong was built with China’s own funds, the space station still opens up opportunities for astronauts from other countries to join.

This foreign involvement can be seen from one of the initial researches that will be carried out by the three Shenzhou-12 crews while in Tianhe, namely a cancer investigation led by Norwegian researchers. In addition, on the outside of the space station is also installed a telescopic spectrograph made in India which was developed to study ultraviolet emission from outer space, especially from exploding stars.

However, in the long term, the space station is also open to receiving astronaut visits from other countries. One that has already expressed interest is Russia, a Chinese ally that has in the past shared its space technology with China.

Also read: China Shakes US Success in Space

“We welcome all forms of cooperation,” said Ji Qiming, assistant director of the China Manned Space Aviation Administration (CMSA). In the future, when the construction of the Tiangong space station is completely completed, it is hoped that astronauts from China and other countries can fly together and work together on the space station.

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