Three Chinese astronauts arrived at the country’s space station on Sunday, the Chinese space agency for human flights said, the latest stride in Beijing’s aim to become a major space power.
June 5, 2022
Three Chinese astronauts arrived at the country’s space station on Sunday, the Chinese space agency for human flights said, the latest stride in Beijing’s aim to become a major space power. The trio blasted off in a Long March-2F rocket at 0244 GMT from the Jiuquan launch center in northwestern China’s Gobi desert, reported state broadcaster CCTV. The team is tasked with «completing in-orbit assembly and construction of the space station», as well as «commissioning of equipment» and conducting scientific experiments, state-run CGTN said Saturday. The astronauts entered the central module of the Tiangong station at around 1250 GMT, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said. The journey took about «seven hours of flight», CCTV reported. Tiangong, which means «heavenly palace», is expected to become fully operational by the end of the year. China’s heavily promoted space program has already seen the nation land a rover on Mars and send probes to the Moon.
