China has made history by sending a civilian into space for the first time since the Tiangong space station was commissioned. Gui Haichao from the Beijing University of Aerospace joined Zhu Yangzhu and Jing Haipeng in the successful launch of the Shenzhou 16 mission. While this is the fourth space flight for Haipeng, it’s the first time for the other two taikonauts. The director of the space center, Zou Lipeng, has declared the launch a “complete success”.
The crew of three will replace the current crew of the Tiangong (“Heaven’s Palace”) after spending a few days together in space. This is the fifth manned mission to the Chinese space station, which began research operations in December. Earlier this month, a cargo flight brought supplies, food, spare parts, and 600 kilograms of fuel in preparation for the crew change.
The current crew of the Tiangong station, which includes Fei Junlong, Deng Qingming, and Zhang Lu, watched the live broadcast as their colleagues launched to space. They are expected to return to Earth on Saturday, although an official date has not been announced.
The Tiangong space station is the only inhabited outpost in space besides the International Space Station (ISS). Although the ISS is four times larger, it’s showing increasing age, and private successors are already in preparation. However, it’s planned to be inhabited and operated until 2030 before crashing in a controlled manner over the South Pacific.
Due to security concerns, China was not allowed to participate in the ISS project. Since launching its first astronauts only 20 years ago, China has caught up with an ambitious space program, exploring the solar system and operating a modern space station. Its first unmanned mission to Mars brought a rover that spent months exploring the red planet. Like NASA, China is preparing manned missions to the moon.
In the USA, there’s already talk of a “race in space”. Despite this, the successful launch of Shenzhou 16 signals China’s progress in gaining a foothold in the increasingly competitive world of space exploration.
