China’s first manned expedition to the space station under construction departed this Thursday from the country’s northwest with three astronauts on board.
The Long March 2F rocket took off on time at 9:22 a.m. (2:22 a.m. Lisbon) from the Jiuquan Cosmodrome in the Gobi Desert (northwest), according to images broadcast live on state television, CGTN. The three astronauts, Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo, will spend three months in the first module of Tiangong Station. [Palácio Celestial], what kind should be completed by 2022 and have a shelf life of at least ten years in space.…
Astronaut Command and Placement Center, this first module was launched into low-earth orbit at altitudes of 350 to 390 kilometers in April. The decision to build a Chinese space station came after the United States denied China participation in the International Space Station (ISS).
The ISS, which brings together the United States, Russia, Canada, Europe and Japan, should cease operations in 2024, although the US space agency NASA has already mentioned the possibility of extending its operation until 2028.
“We are ready to cooperate with any country committed to the peaceful use of space,” Ji Qiming, head of the China Manned Missions Agency (CMSA), said Wednesday.
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