BEIJING: China is set to launch its Shenzhou-21 crewed spacecraft at 11:44 p.m. Friday (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
The mission will send three Chinese astronauts, or taikonauts, Zhang Lu, Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang, to the country’s space station for a six-month stay, where they will carry out space science experiments, technology verification and maintenance work.
Commander Zhang Lu, a veteran astronaut who previously flew on Shenzhou-15, will lead the crew. With 186 days of flight experience and four spacewalks under his belt, Zhang Lu said the mission represents both “a return to space and a greater responsibility.”
“In this mission, my greatest challenge may stem from transitioning into the role of commander,” Zhang said in an interview with China Media Group (CMG).
“I must lead two young teammates to complete the task at the space station, ensuring their safety and making the right decision without delay,” he said.
Despite his experience, Zhang Lu said he approached training with a “zero-based mindset,” emphasizing precision in every maneuver, especially during underwater simulations in the neutral buoyancy tank. He noted that the intergenerational makeup of the crew, born in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, has created a dynamic of “complementarity and inspiration” in their teamwork.
He added that, beyond regular space station maintenance, the team will continue installing protective panels initiated by the Shenzhou-18 crew, “giving the station a complete layer of protection to make it stronger, more stable, and more reliable for future operations.”
For Wu Fei, the youngest taikonaut ever to join a Chinese crewed space mission at 32, the journey to space began two decades ago in his hometown of Siziwang Banner in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, where the country’s first astronaut Yang Liwei landed after the Shenzhou-5 mission in 2003. –The Daily Mail-CGTN news exchange item
